12-  .1  ./6 


^  PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


\. 


Purchased   by  the   Hamill   Missionary   Fund. 


BV  2035 

.M248 

1895 

McLean, 

Archib 

aid, 

1850- 

1920. 

Missionary 

add 

resses 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  FOREIGN  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 
W   S.  Dickinson,  Treasurer.  2.    A.  McLean,  Corresponding  Secretary. 

3.    0.  L.  Loos,  President. 
F.  M.  R.\iNS,  Finaneial  Secretary.  5.    I.  J.  Spencer,  Recording  Secretary. 


MISSIONARY  IDDRESSES 


1   1910 


^'V. 


A.   McLEAN, 


CORRESPONDIKG    SeCKETARY   OP   THE    FOREIGN    ChRISTIAK 

MissioxAKY  Society. 


St.  Louis: 

CHRISTIAN  PUBLISHING  COMPANY, 

1893. 


Copyrighted,  1895,  by 
CHRISTIAN  PUBLISHING  COMPANY. 


PREFATORY    NOTE. 


The  Addresses  contained  in  this  volume  were  prepared  for 
college  students  and  for  gatherings  of  Christian  workers. 
Most  of  them  were  delivered  at  Ann  Arbor,  Bethanj-,  Butler, 
Drake,  Eureka,  Hiram,  and  Lexington.  Some  of  them  were 
delivered  before  Missionary  Conventions  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Pacific.  They  are  published  because  some  good  people 
who  heard  them  thought  they  contained  information  that  would 
be  helpful  to  many.  They  were  prepared  in  the  spare  hours 
of  several  busy  years.  No  claim  for  originality  is  made. 
Other  men  labored,  and  I  entered  into  their  labors. 

A.  McLean. 
Cincinnati. 


CONTENTS. 

I.     The  Supreme  Mission  of  the  Church.           .        .  1 

II.     The  Gospel  for  all  Nations.          ...  24 

III.  Encouragement  in  Missions 42 

IV.  The  Success  of  Modern  Missions.           .        .  66 
V.     The  Heroism  of  Missions.             ....  89 

VI.     The  Transforming  Power  of  the  Gospel.      .  113 

VII.     Woman  and  the  Gospel.       .....  133 

VIII.     Missions  in  the  Life  of  Christ.        .         .        .  152 

IX.     Missions  in  the  Early  Church.  .        .        .165 

X.     Missions  in  the  Middle  Ages.          .        .        .  185 

XI.     Modern  Missions. 202 

XII.     Missions  Among  THE  Disciples  OF  Christ.        .  224 

XIII.  Medical  Missions. 249 

XIV.  "This  Grace  Also.  " 264 

Appendix. 287 

A  Select  Bibliography 290 

Index 295 


^i86ionati2  Hbbresees. 


WORKERS   IN  JAPAN. 

Miss  Loduska  Wiriok,  Tokyo. 
G.  T.  Smith,  Tokyo.  E.  S.  Stevens,  Tokyo. 

Miss  Mary  Rioch,  Tokyo.    Miss  Kate  V.  John.sox,  Tokyo.       Mks.  G.  T.  SmitIi,  Tokyo. 


I. 

THE    SUPREME  MISSION  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Thus  it  is  written,  that  the  Christ  should  suffer,  and  rise  again  from  the 
dead  the  third  day;  and  that  repentance  and  remission  of  sins  should  be 
preached  in  his  name  unto  all  the  nations.— I/wfce  xxiv.  46,  47. 

It  is  too  light  a  thing  that  thou  shouldest  be  my  servant  to  raise  up  the 
tribes  of  Jacob,  and  to  restore  the  preserved  of  Israel:  I  will  also  give  thee 
for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles,  that  thou  mayest  be  my  salvation  unto  the  end  of 
the  earth. — Isa.  xlix.  6. 

Our  risen  Lord  gave  one  command,  and  only  one, 
to  his  disciples.  That  command  is  found  in  five  dif- 
ferent forms.  The  work  he  commanded  them  to  do 
was  the  work  of  evangelizing  the  world.  They  were 
not  to  convert  every  soul  from  the  error  of  his  way, 
but  they  were  to  preach  the  gospel  to  all  men  every- 
where. The  subject  before  us  at  this  time  is,  The 
Supreme  Mission  of  the  Church. 

I.  Let  us  see  hoiv  that  mission  is  set  forth  in  the 
different  forms  in  ivhich  the  last  comma7id  of  our  Lord 
is  recorded.  The  Commission  as  given  by  Matthew 
reads:  "All  authority  hath  been  given  unto  me  in 
heaven  and  on  earth.  Go  ye  therefore,  and  make 
disciples  of  all  the  nations,  baptizing  them  into  the 
name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Spirit:  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatso- 
ever I  commanded  you."  This  is  the  use  he  makes 
of  the  authority  which  had  been  given  to  him.  He 
sends  the  men  whom  he  had  chosen  and  trained  to 
make  disciples  of  all  the  nations.  The  Commission 
as  given  by  Mark  reads:  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world, 
and  preach  the  gospel  to  the  whole  creation."  When 
he  sent  the  Twelve  out  on  their  first  preaching  tour 


2  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

he  said  to  them,  "Go  not  into  any  way  of  the  Gen- 
tiles, and  enter  not  into  any  city  of  the  Samaritans; 
but  go  rather  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of 
Israel."  Now  they  are  to  go  in  all  directions  and 
preach  the  gospel  to  every  soul  alive.  Their  field  is 
the  world.  As  given  by  Luke  the  Commission  runs: 
"Thus  it  is  written,  that  the  Christ  should  suffer, 
and  rise  again  from  the  dead  the  third  day;  and  that 
repentance  and  remission  of  sins  should  be  preached 
in  his  name  unto  all  the  nations."  Christ  was  the 
Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world.  He 
was  wounded  for  our  transgressions;  he  was  bruised 
for  our  iniquities;  the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was 
upon  him,  and  with  his  stripes  we  are  healed.  Be- 
cause he  tasted  death  for  every  man,  God  has  ordained 
that  repentance  and  remission  of  sins  shall  be 
preached  in  his  name  to  all  the  nations.  The  Com- 
mission as  given  by  John  reads:  "As  the  Father  hath 
sent  me,  even  so  send  I  you.  And  when  he  had  said 
this  he  breathed  on  them  and  said  to  them.  Receive 
ye  the  Holy  Spirit:  whosesoever  sins  ye  forgive,  they 
are  forgiven  unto  them;  whosesoever  sins  ye  retain, 
they  are  retained."  As  long  as  he  was  in  the  world, 
he  was  the  light  of  the  world.  Now  he  was  going  to 
the  Father,  and  they  Avere  to  be  the  light  of  the 
world.  They  were  to  drink  into  his  spirit  and  carry 
on  to  completion  the  great  work  which  he  had  begun. 
The  Commission  as  given  in  the  book  of  Acts  reads 
thus:  "Bat  ye  shall  receive  power,  when  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  come  upon  you:  and  ye  shall  be  my  witnesses 
both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Jud?ea  and  Samaria,  and 
unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth."  They  were 
not  to  seek  out  comfortable  positions  and  fill  them. 
They  were  to  go  from  city  to  city  and  from  nation  to 
nation.  As  they  went  they  were  to  publish  what  they 
had  heard,  and  seen,  and  handled,  and  knew  to  be 


THE  SUPREME  MISSION  OF  THE  CHURCH.  3 

true.  I  ask  you  to  note  particularly  that  in  recording 
the  Great  Commission  not  one  of  the  Evangelists  in- 
timates that  in  that  supreme  hour  our  Lord  said  any- 
thing to  these  men  about  saving  themselves.  There 
is  one  thought  in  his  mind,  and  only  one,  and  that  is 
the  evangelization  of  the  Avorld.  True,  they  were  to 
save  themselves;  but  Christ's  thought  was  this:  that, 
in  helping  him  seek  and  save  the  lost,  they  would 
make  their  own  calling  and  election  sure.  If  they 
obeyed  his  parting  command,  they  could  not  perish. 
If  they  disobeyed  his  parting  command  and  selfishly 
sought  their  own  good,  they  could  not  possibly  be 
saved. 

The  Commission  agrees  with  what  the  Scriptures 
teach  elsewhere.  Thus  the  Prophet  said:  "  It  is  too 
light  a  thing  that  thou  shouldest  be  my  servant  to 
raise  up  the  tribes  of  Jacob,  and  to  restore  the  pre- 
served of  Israel:  I  will  also  give  thee  for  a  light  to 
the  nations,  that  thou  mayest  be  my  salvation  unto 
the  ends  of  the  earth."  The  flock  must  be  fed  and 
tended;  the  work  at  home  must  be  vigorously  prose- 
cuted; but  that  is  too  small  a  thing  to  constitute  the 
chief  work  of  the  church.  Her  mission  is  to  give 
light  to  the  nations  that  sit  in  darkness,  and  to  con- 
vey a  knowledge  of  salvation  to  all  the  ends  of  the 
earth.  This  is  the  grand  design  our  Lord  had  in 
mind  in  the  organization  of  the  church.  If  she  loses 
sight  of  this  and  concentrates  all  her  efforts  and 
resources  upon  herself  and  the  work  about  her  own 
door,  she  loses  sight  of  the  main  end  for  which  she 
was  instituted.  Christians  are  to  cleanse  themselves 
from  all  tilthiness  of  the  flesh  and  spirit,  and  to  per- 
fect sanctification  in  the  fear  of  God.  They  are  to 
consider  one  another  to  provoke  unto  love  and  good 
works.  But  when  they  have  performed  these  duties 
they  must  not  flatter  themselves  that  they  have  dis- 


4  '  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

charged  all  their  obligations.  We  should  pray  with 
the  psalmist,  "God  be  merciful  unto  us  and  bless  us, 
that  thy  way  may  be  known  upon  earth,  thy  saving 
health  among  all  nations."  We  have  been  blessed, 
that  we  may  be  a  blessing  to  all  who  are  in  need  of 
the  gospel,  and  not  that  we  may  selfishly  enjoy  what 
we  have  received.  This  is  the  chief  consideration. 
In  our  Lord's  parable,  the  man  that  had  a  hundred 
sheep  and  lost  one,  left  the  ninety  and  nine  in  the 
wilderness  and  went  after  the  lost  one  until  he  found 
it.  He  gave  himself  no  rest  until  he  succeeded.  In 
far  too  many  instances  that  process  is  reversed. 
Churches  give  their  time  and  thought  and  substance 
to  entertain  the  ninety  and  nine  who  are  safe  in  the 
fold,  and  give  almost  no  attention  to  those  who  have 
gone  astray.  The  work  of  evangelizing  the  world  is 
not  an  incident  in  the  life  of  the  church;  it  is  not  a 
by-work  or  a  by-play ;  it  is  the  one  great  work  of  the 
Church  of  Christ;  it  is  its  chief  business;  it  is  its 
supreme  concern,  and  its  claims  are  pre-eminent  and 
paramount.  As  has  been  said,  "Apart  from  all  other 
duties  of  the  church,  rising  far  above  the  claims  of 
lands  already  Christian,  eclipsing  every  other  obliga- 
tion which  God  has  placed  on  the  souls  of  enlightened 
men,  is  the  duty  of  making  known  to  the  nations  that 
have  not  known  him,  the  fact  that  Jesus  Christ  has 
come  to  the  earth  as  a  divine  Savior."  The  first 
question  with  a  Christian  is  not.  What  shall  I  eat?  or. 
What  shall  I  drink?  or,  Wherewithal  shall  I  be 
clothed?  but.  How  may  I  best  advance  the  kingdom 
of  God  among  men?  In  placing  the  emphasis  where 
Christ  placed  it,  he  will  save  his  own  soul.  Nothing 
can  be  clearer  than  that  the  Scriptures  teach  that  the 
evangelization  of  the  world  is  the  supreme  mission  of 
the  church. 
//.    Let  us  inquire  how  the  church  has  understood 


THE  SUPREME  MISSION  OF  THE  CHURCH.  5 

and  obeyed  the  last  commaml  of  her  Lord.  Mark 
tells  us  that  the  disciples  "  went  forth,  and  preached 
everywhere."  They  had  only  one  thought  in  mind, 
they  had  only  one  work  on  hand,  and  that  was  the 
evangelization  of  the  world.  Nothing  could  daunt  or 
deter  them.  One  of  them  said  that  he  did  not  know 
what  the  future  had  in  store  for  him  save  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  testified  that  in  every  city  bonds  and  af- 
flictions awaited  him.  But  none  of  these  things 
moved  him,  neither  did  he  account  his  life  as  dear 
unto  himself,  so  that  he  could  accomplish  his  course, 
and  the  ministry  which  he  received  from  the  Lord 
Jesus,  to  testify  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God.  He 
was  a  witness  for  Christ,  and  he  must  speak.  The 
truth  was  like  a  burning  fire  shut  up  in  his  bones,  and 
he  could  not  be  silent.  So  active  and  aggressive  were 
the  disciples  of  Christ  in  that  period  that  an  apostle 
speaks  of  the  gospel  "as  having  been  preached  in  all 
creation  under  heaven,"  and  as  "bearing  fruit  in  all 
the  world."     We  have  a  hymn  which  runs — 

•  'My  willing  soul  would  stay  in  such  a  frame  as  this, 
And  sit  and  sing  herself  away  to  everlasting  bliss.  " ' 

No  apostle  sang  a  hymn  like  that.  Such  a  senti- 
ment was  foreign  to  the  apostolic  age.  The  messen- 
gers of  Christ  were  constantly  in  motion.  They  trav- 
ersed land  and  sea  seeking  to  fill  the  world  with  a 
knowledge  of  salvation  through  Jesus  the  crucified. 
They  committed  the  truth  which  they  received  to 
faithful  men,  who  carried  on  the  work  after  their 
death.  Early  in  the  fourth  century  Constantino  was 
numbered  among  the  faithful,  and  with  him  the  Em- 
pire became  Christian  in  name.  The  good  work  went 
on  after  this.  Saint  Patrick  carried  the  gospel  to 
Ireland;  Columba  to  Scotland;  Augustine  to  Eng- 
land; Boniface  to  Germany;  Saint  Gall  to  Switzer- 
land;   Anskar  to  Scandinavia.      At  the  close  of  the 


6  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

fourteenth  century  Europe  was  nominally  Chris- 
tian. Then  all  missionary  activity  ceased.  For  three 
hundred  years  almost  nothing  was  done  in  the  regions 
beyond.  Luther  and  Calvin  and  Knox  and  Cranmer 
thought  that  the  end  of  all  things  was  at  hand.  In 
their  opinion  it  was  too  late  to  do  anything  to  save 
the  nations  sitting  in  darkness  and  in  the  shadow  of 
death.  Their  dark  destin}'  was  sealed.  Here  and 
there  a  man  like  Francis  Xavier,  or  Las  Casas,  or 
John  Eliot,  or  David  Brainerd,  went  out  and  bore  tes- 
timony to  the  Christ,  but  the  church,  as  such,  was  fast 
asleep  or  engaged  in  fruitless  controversies.  Dryden, 
speaking  of  the  church  of  his  time  said: 

' '  To  foreign  lands  no  sound  of  her  is  come , 
Humblj'  content  to  be  despised  at  home.  ' ' 

When  the  present  era  of  missions  began,  the  peo- 
ple of  God  were  hostile  or  indifferent  for  the  most 
part.  The  appeals  of  Carey  were  received  with  un- 
measured ridicule.  He  was  regarded  as  a  fanatic 
and  as  a  fool.  Pious  i3eople  felt  that  it  was  their  sol- 
emn duty  to  render  all  his  arguments  and  efforts  of 
none  effect.  Parsons  who  cut  short  the  services  on 
Sunday  morning  that  their  hearers  might  be  in  time 
to  hunt  foxes  in  the  afternoon  were  shocked  at  the 
thought  of  being  called  to  bear  the  gospel  to  the 
non-Christian  nations.  One  Scotch  clergyman 
thought  that  the  man  w^io  collected  funds  for  this 
purpose  ought  to  be  criminally  prosecuted. 

Since  that  time  a  great  change  has  come  over  the 
thought  of  the  church  respecting  this  work.  There 
are  now  more  than  five  thousand  ordained  workers 
in  the  field,  and  about  as  man}'^  more  unordained. 
The  churches  give  over  twelve  millions  a  year  for  this 
work;  the  Christian  people  of  the  United  States  give 
five  millions  of  the  twelve.  Each  successive  year 
more  workers  go  out,  more  money  is  given,  and  more 


THE  SUPREME  MISSION  OF  THE  CHURCH.  7 

churches  are  enlisted.  Christian  people  are  coming 
to  feel  more  and  more  that  the  law  of  continual  ex- 
pansion is  the  law  of  the  church's  existence,  and  the 
condition  of  its  prosperity.  As  Westcott  says: 
*'  This  is  not  tlie  self -chosen  work  of  a  few  apostolic 
enthusiasts;  it  is  the  work  of  the  church,  as  a  cliurcli.''^ 

A  century  ago  the  great  schools  of  Christendom 
knew  nothing  and  cared  nothing  about  the  evangel- 
ization of  the  world.  The  graduates  knew  no  more 
about  missions  than  they  knew  about  Chinese  meta- 
physics. The  fact  is,  there  were  very  few  students 
that  had  any  interest  in  the  gospel.  Christianity  was 
supposed  to  have  been  outgrown  and  left  behind. 
Young  men  called  themselves  after  French  infidels. 
Shaftesbury  says  that  only  two  or  three  students  in 
his  school  went  to  the  communion  table.  Now  almost 
every  great  school  in  Christendom  has  among  its  stu- 
dents a  Band  of  Volunteers.  They  meet  to  talk  and  pray 
about  the  fields,  about  the  teachings  of  the  Scriptures, 
about  the  claims  of  Christ  upon  them;  as  they  talk 
and  pray  their  hearts  burn  within  them,  and  they  long 
for  the  time  when  they  shall  go  out  and  help  win  the 
world  for  God.  Schools  are  sending  and  supporting 
their  own  workers.  This  uprising  among  the  young 
people  in  colleges  is  one  of  the  most  significant  and 
hopeful  signs  of  the  times. 

Our  own  history  shows  the  same  thing.  In  1857 
the  Disciples  of  Christ  raised  and  disbursed  for 
Home  and  Foreign  missions  not  over  fifteen  thou- 
sand dollars.  Benjamin  Franklin,  Corresponding 
Secretary  that  year,  spoke  of  the  gain  in  the  receipts 
as  compared  with  the  year  previous.  Last  year 
we  raised  and  disbursed  in  the  work  at  home  and 
abroad  not  less  than  $771,342.51.  That  is  an  en- 
couraging exhibit.  The  character  of  our  mission- 
ary  conventions    has  undergone   a   marked    change. 


8  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

In  the  first  convention  fifty-eight  resolutions  were 
introduced  and  discussed.  There  was  no  work  to 
report.  At  these  conventions  great  sermons  were 
preached.  Eloquent  men  explained  how  the  Lord 
opened  Lydia's  heart  or  expounded  the  report  of 
the  conversion  of  Cornelius.  There  was  little  said 
about  world-wide  evangelism.  That  was  not  the  domi- 
nant thought.  Now  our  conventions  are  mission- 
ary throughout.  The  workers  rehearse  all  that  God 
has  done  with  them  in  the  year.  The  Scriptures 
read,  the  hymns,  the  prayers,  the  addresses,  all  bear 
on  this  one  point.  Even  the  few  resolutions  have 
reference  to  entering  new  fields  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord.  The  change  in  our  conventions  reflects  the 
change  that  has  taken  place  in  our  thought  respect- 
ing the  work. 

While  the  improvement  is  most  marked  and  most 
gratifying,  we  must  sorrowfully  admit  that  we  are  not 
doing  anything  commensurate  v/ith  our  resources. 
We  talk  of  $5,000,000  as  a  handsome  sum  for  the 
Christian  people  of  this  land  to  give  in  a  year.  It  is 
a  trifio  when  the  wealth  of  the  church  is  considered. 
There  are  single  men  who  could  give  this  much  and 
not  be  embarrassed.  How  much  do  the  American 
people  give  for  other  objects  of  less  value?  We  pay 
$70,000,000  for  finger  rings.  We  pay  $300,000,000  for 
jewelry.  We  pay  $200,000,000  for  amusements;  $600,- 
000,000  for  tobacco,and$l,000,000,000  for  drink.  There 
are  as  many  Christian  people  in  this  land  as  there  are 
drinking  people.  There  is  no  comparison  between 
the  two  in  point  of  ability.  The  Christian  people  are 
the  best  fed,  clothed,  and  housed  body  of  people  on 
the  globe.  Yet  one  class  can  pay  out  a  billion  dol- 
lars a  year  to  gratify  a  demonized  appetite,  and  the 
other  with  the  greatest  difficulty  can  contribute  five 
millions  to  obey  the  last  command  of  their  glorified 


THE  SUPREME  MISSION  OF  THE  CHURCH.  9 

Eedeemer.  All  the  money  contributed  by  the  Amer- 
ican people  for  world-wide  evangelization  in  seventy 
years  would  not  pay  the  drink  bill  of  the  nation  for 
six  months.  We  pay,  so  it  is  said,  more  for  dog 
tax  than  for  missions.  We  talk  about  5,000  or- 
dained workers  as  if  they  were  a  great  host.  But 
what  are  they  among  a  thousand  million  souls?  We 
have  about  65.000,000  people  in  the  United  States, 
and  have  over  100,000  preachers.  England  is  a  small 
country  with  a  population  of  30,000,000;  England 
has  35,000  preachers.  The  single  city  of  London  has 
almost  as  many  as  there  are  in  the  non-Christian 
world.,  Scotland  is  a  little  bit  of  a  place.  Some  one 
has  said^that  you  might  put  Scotland  in  one  of  our 
northern  lakes,  and,  if  it  were  not  for  the  smell  of  the 
whiskey,  you  would  not  know  it  was  there;  Scotland 
has  about  as  many  ordained  ministers  as  there  are  in 
all  the  mission  fields.  If  any  question  affects  national 
honor  there  is  scarcely  any  limit  to  the  blood  and 
treasure  that  people  arc  willing  to  pour  out.  The 
Crimean  war  cost  785,000  lives  and  $1,700,000,000. 
Our  Civil  war  cost  800,000  lives  and  $9,450,000,000. 
In  fourteen  years  wars  in  different  parts  of  the  world 
cost  1,734,000  lives,  and  $12,000,000,000.  In  the  first 
half  of  the  century  the  United  States  expended  $400,- 
000,000  in  Indian  wars.  In  preparing  for  a  war  with 
Chili  the  nation  spent  more  than  the  churches  gave 
that  year  for  missions.  In  the  Crusades  not  fewer 
than  two  million  lives  were  sacrificed.  Nations  are 
ready  to  fight  for  "  an  eggshell,"  as  Hamlet  says.  In 
view  of  the  vast  sums  spent  on  war  and  waste,  the 
amount  spent  for  missions  is  insignificant. 

What  is  being  done  now  is  done  by  a  few.  Nine- 
tenths  of  all  the  gifts  come  from  one-tenth  of  the 
people,  while  one-half  give  nothing.  Eobert  Morri- 
son said,  "It  is  lamentable  to  see  what  a  large  propor- 


10  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

tion  of  the  bishops,  presbyters,  deacons,  and  people 
in  English  churches  put  themselves  quite  outside  of 
the  missionary  concern,  and  think  that  they  may  in- 
nocently hav^e  nothing  to  do  with  it."  Judson  said 
his  hand  was  nearly  shaken  off,  and  his  head  shorn 
off  for  mementos,  by  people  who  would  be  willing 
to  let  missions  die.  Among  the  Moravians  it  is  not 
so.  Every  church  has  its  mission.  Every  man, 
woman,  and  child,  has  an  interest  in  the  work.  The 
Moravians  can  say,  "This  one  thing  we  do."  But  they 
are  an  exception ;  the  churches,  as  churches,  are  not 
carrying  on  this  work.  They  do  not  put  the  empha- 
sis upon  it  that  our  Lord  did.  The  evangelization  of 
the  world  is  left  to  such  congregations  and  such  indi- 
viduals as  see  proper  to  engage  in  it;  the  bulk  of  the 
churches,  as  churches,  do  not  feel  responsible  for  its 
maintenance  and  management.  With  them  it  is  a 
by-work  or  a  May  holiday,  instead  of  being  their 
main  work,  a  work  demanding  the  highest  talent  and 
the  most  devoted  service.  With  multitudes  the  lead- 
ing question  is.  What  shall  I  eat?  or.  What  shall  I 
drink?  or,  Wherewithal  shall  I  be  clothed?  The 
claims  of  appetite  and  pride  take  precedence  of  the 
high  claims  of  the  Christ.  A  physician  giving  a 
chapter  of  bis  experience  said  that  he  had  served  a 
family  in  good  circumstances  for  years  and  received 
no  pay.  After  caring  for  several  members  in  typhoid 
fever  and  dismissing  them,  the  good  woman  followed 
him  to  the  door  and  said,  "Doctor,  you  have  been 
very  kind  to  us,  and  very  successful,  and  v,'e  never 
paid  you  anything,  but  we  intend  to."  The  generous 
Doctor  said,  "Madam,  that  is  all  right;  pay  me  when 
it  suits  you,"  The  woman  said,  "We  are  paying  up 
in  the  Building  Association,  and  when  we  are  through 
with  that,  we  will  remeuiber  your  claim  and  meet  it." 
Said  he,  "Madam,  how  long  will  it  take  you  to  pay 


THE  SUPREME  MISSION  OF  THE  CHURCH.  11 

up  in  the  Building  Association?"     Said  she,  "Doctor, 
it  will  take  us  just  seventeen  years;   but  when  we  are 
through,  we  will  pay  j'ourbill."     Seventeen  years  is 
a  long  time  for  a  man  to  wait  for  fees  already  long 
overdue.     That  good  man  will   bo  dust  before  those 
years   shall    have   come  and  gone.      Is  it  not  so  that 
myriads  treat  the  Lord's  claims?     When   they  have 
gratified   every   appetite  and  every  desire,  then  they 
may  do   something,  but  not  till  then;    thus   putting 
that  last  which  Christ  put  first,  and  regarding  that  as 
least  of   all  which  in  his  thought  is  greatest  of  all. 
Brethren,  we  claim  that  we  have  reproduced  prim- 
itive  Christianity.      In  some   important  respects  we 
hav«.     We  understand  the  terms  of  pardon  as  well  as 
the  apostles  did.     We  understand  the  place  and  the 
purpose  of  the  ordinances  as  well  as  they  did.     But 
until  we   have   the  missionary  zeal   of  the  apostolic 
church  we  shall  not  have  reproduced  primitive  Chris- 
tianity.    Have    we   the    zeal    of    the    early    church? 
While  a  majority   of  our   churches  stand  aloof  from 
the  missionary  enterprise  and  do  not  touch  its  burden 
with  the  tips  of  their  fingers,  who  can  afiirm  that  we 
have? 

///.  Let  us  inquwe  what  is  needed  in  order  that  our 
Lord's  last  command  may  be  obeyed.  The  church 
needs,  first  of  all,  a  missionary  conscieiice.  We  need 
to  understand  that  this  is  our  first  work,  and  to  feel 
bound  to  perform  it.  The  church  has  a  conscience  on 
other  matters.  For  example,  she  has  a  temperance 
conscience.  Fifty  years  ago  it  was  not  so.  Then 
there  could  not  be  a  birth,  or  a  death,  or  a  wedding,  or 
a  festival  of  any  kind,  without  liquor.  A  farmer  could 
not  gather  his  harvest  without  a  barrel  of  whiskey. 
A  man  could  not  go  to  sleep  at  night  or  wake  up  in 
the  morning  without  a  dram.  If  the  weather  was 
cold,  he  needed  a  drink  to  keep  him  warm;  and  if  the 


12  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

weather  was  hot,  he  needed  one  to  keep  him  cool. 
Preachers  as  well  as  pewholders  drank,  and  no  one  was 
scandalized.  Doctor  Guthrie  states  that,  in  his  youth, 
Avhen  the  clergy  met  in  their  annual  convocations,  it 
Avas  a  very  common  thing  for  them  to  drink.  It  was 
not  reputable  to  get  drunk,  but  to  drink  till  the 
drinkers  got  happy  provoked  no  censure  and  no  com- 
ment. John  Smith  and  an  associate  called  for  the 
drinks.  While  his  companion  was  giving  thanks,  John 
Smith  drank  both  glasses.  The  church  has  gotten  be- 
yond that  now.  No  man  in  the  pulpit  or  in  the  pew 
can  drink  wilh  impunity.  The  church  has  a  conscience 
on  this  subject.  Her  meml^ers  must  abstain  from  the 
use  of  spirituous  and  vinous  liquors.  In  like  manner 
the  church  has  a  doctrinal  conscience.  Some  things 
must  be  taught  and  practiced;  and  some  other  things 
must  not  be  taught  or  practiced.  Years  ago  a  dying 
man  sent  for  a  young  preacher  to  read  and  pray  with 
him.  Having  done  this  the  dying  man  asked  the  young 
preacher  to  baptize  him.  His  physician  and  family 
said  it  was  impossible  to  baptize  him.  Then  he  begged 
the  young  man  to  sprinkle  or  pour  a  little  water  on  his 
face  and  call  that  baptism.  Being  urged  to  do  this, 
he  yielded  and  sprinkled  a  little  water  on  the  dying^ 
man's  brow  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Instantly  there  was  an  outcry 
from  Dan  to  Beersheba.  Every  pulpit  and  every  paper 
denounced  the  deed  as  a  crime.  If  that  young  man 
had  robbed  a  henroost,  or  cut  his  neighbor's  throat, 
or  eloped  with  his  wife,  he  would  not  have  been  more 
severely  condemned.  Why  so?  Because  the  church 
has  a  conscience  on  baptism.  The  slightest  departure 
from  orthodoxy  incurs  the  severest  j^enalties,  but 
a  preacher  may  not  allude  to  the  Commission  nor  take 
up  a  missionary  offering  for  a  decade,  and  nothing  will 
be  said  to  his  discredit.     The  church  has   a   robust 


THE  SUPREME  MISSION  OF  THE  CHURCH.  13 

doctrinal  conscience,  but  has  almost  no  conscience 
whatever  on  Missions.  We  shall  never  obey  our  Lord's 
jDarting  charge  until  wo  have  a  missionary  conscience. 
We  must  feel  about  this  work  as  we  feel  about  other 
duties  that  are  plainly  enjoined  in  Holy  Scripture. 
We  must  feci  self-condemned  if  we  neglect  it,  and 
know  that  God,  who  is  greater  than  our  hearts,  and 
knows  all  things,  condemns  us  also.  There  are  Chris- 
tians who  make  this  work  their  first  concern.  There 
are  others  who  feel  that  it  is  for  them  to  elect  whether 
they  will  help  or  not,  and  that  whether  they  assist  or 
stand  aloof  they  are  alike  innocent  before  God.  Not 
long  ago  I  spoke  to  a  large  and  prosperous  congrega- 
tion. The  minister  in  charge  announced  that  at  night 
the  church  would  make  its  annual  offering  for  Mis- 
sions. In  the  morning  the  house  was  full;  in  the 
evening  it  was  not  more  than  a  third  full.  What  was 
the  causeof  this  falling  off  in  the  audience?  Those  good 
people  had  no  conscience  on  missions.  They  felt  free 
to  help  or  to  withhoM  their  help.  About  the  same 
time  I  was  at  an  Endeavor  meeting.  It  was  the  Con- 
secration service.  The  young  people  arose  and  pledged 
themselves  anew  to  their  Lord.  Just  before  the 
benediction  the  pastor  stated  that  I  would  speak  that 
night  on  world-wide  evangelism.  What  followed? 
The  young  people  took  their  wraps  and  paired  off  and 
left  the  house,  and  did  not  come  back  to  the  service. 
What  was  the  cause  of  this  exodus?  These  people 
who  pledged  thetnselves  every  week  to  strive  to  do 
Avhatever  Christ  would  like  to  have  them  do,  had  no 
conscience  on  Missions.  They  felt  free  to  attend  or 
to  absent  themselves.  If  I  was  to  speak  on  Courtship 
and  Marriage,  or  on  the  Model  Wife,  or  the  Model 
Husband,  or  on  the  Tariff,  or  on  the  Silver  question, 
they  would  have  packed  the  house  and  would  have 
taken  in  very  word.     But  in  their  estimation  the  last 


14  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

command  of  Christ  is  not  binding  upon  tliem.  It 
often  happens  that,  when  I  go  to  churches  to  speak, 
the  pillars  coil  up  in  the  ends  of  the  seats  like  cork- 
screws and  get  ready  to  sleep  during  the  address.  The 
reason  of  this  is,  these  men  have  no  conscience  on 
Missions. 

Men  say:  "I  do  not  believe  in  Missions,"  and 
think  that  ends  the  matter.  By  no  means.  One 
might  as  well  say,  "  I  do  not  believe  in  speaking  the 
truth;"  or,  "I  do  not  believe  in  dealing  honestly," 
and  conclude  that  that  ended  the  matter.  Obligation, 
springs  from  God,  and  while  he  sits  on  his  throne, 
this  duty  will  remain,  whether  we  recognize  it  or  not. 
We  need  a  conscience  to  bind  us  to  the  performance 
of  this  work,  and  to  condemn  us  if  we  neglect  it. 

Secondly.  There  is  need  of  information  respecting 
this  work.  Some  people  say,  "  We  have  no  time  to 
read."  In  time  of  war  people  read  the  morning  and 
the  evening  paper.  If  they  could  get  a  paper  at  mid- 
night they  would  awake  and  read  it.  Sporting  people 
find  time  to*read  the  sporting  news.  Politicians,  socie- 
ty people,  and  business  men  find  time  to  read  what  con- 
cerns them,  Jonathan  Edwards  said  he  never  picked 
up  a  daily  paper  without  looking  to  see  what  it  had  to 
say  about  the  advancement  of  Christ's  Kingdom.  If 
we  are  deeply  in  earnest  about  this  work,  we  shall  find 
all  the  time  we  need.  Thousands  of  people  know  al- 
most nothing  about  the  work  of  Christ  in  the  world. 
Their  ignorance  is  profound  and  pathetic.  They  are 
indifferent  simply  because  they  are  ignorant.  They 
must  be  informed  before  they  will  render  any  effective 
assistance.  The  facts  must  be  kept  before  them.  As 
has  been  said,  "  We  shall  never  be  able  to  wake  them 
up  with  a  single  blast.  There  must  be  peal  on  peal, 
till  the  thunder  rolls  all  around  the  sky,  and  the  light- 
ning flashes  at  every  point  in  the  horizon.    The  world. 


THE  SUPREME  MISSION  OF  THE  CHURCH.  15 

the  flesh,  aucl  the  devil  never  sleep ;  their  appeals  are 
perpetual.  We  must  learn  wisdom  from  the  adversary 
— his  persistence,  his  variety  and  continuity  of  effort. 
Let  us  give  the  people  line  upon  line,  precept  upon 
precept,  here  a  little  and  there  a  great  deal.  A  fire 
may  be  fanned  with  wind,  but  it  can  be  fed  only  with 
£uel,  and  the  fuel  of  all  missionary  zeal  is  a  knowledge 
of  the  facts."  Dean  Vaughan,  addressing  the  pastors 
of  England,  said:  "From  you  the  Bride  of  Christ 
must  learn  her  responsibility.  See  that  you  leave  her 
not  ignorant  of  the  names  and  the  histories  of  her 
Saints,  dead  and  living,  in  the  mighty  field  of  a  far- 
off  battle.  Let  it  be  more  disgraceful,  in  your  thoughts, 
that  your  children  should  know  nothing  of  the  planters 
and  of  the  waterers  of  Christ's  vineyard  in  India,  in 
Africa,  in  Australasia,  than  that  they  should  be 
ignorant  of  the  exploits  by  which  Switzerland  became 
free,  or  of  the  battle-field  on  which  Germany  was  made 
one.  Know,  and  you  will  feel.  Know,  and  you  will 
pray.  Know,  and  you  will  help."  Information  is  the 
panacea  for  apathy  and  for  antipathy. 

Thirdly.  We  need  to  give  this  Avork  greater  prom- 
inence in  public  worship  and  in  our  private  devo- 
tions. An  occasional  sermon  on  Missions  will  not 
sufiice;  we  must  make  this  subject  the  fibre  and  sub- 
stance of  all  our  teachiug.  We  must  put  as  much 
emphasis  upon  it  as  the  Bible  does,  which  is  essen- 
tially a  missionary  book.  There  are  pulpits  in  which 
this  is  done.  In  every  service  this  duty  is  made  prom- 
inent. There  are  others  in  which  it  is  seldom  alluded 
to.  Dr.  Taylor  asked  for  a  few  minutes  to  present 
the  claims  of  China  before  the  Perth  Conference.  He 
was  told  that  the  Conference  was  for  edification,  and 
that  missionary  topics  could  not  be  introduced.  Dr. 
Daniels  of  the  American  Board  was  told  by  an  eminent 
preacher  that  so  many  topics  presented  themselves  he 


16  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

could  not  turn  aside  to  talk  about  Missions.  Another 
asked  him  to  speak  in  the  morning  on  Missions  and 
to  preach  the  Gospel  in  the  evening.  There  are  pastors 
who  think  this  work  something  apart  from  the  Gospel. 
The  people  whom  they  address  have  little  interest  in 
anything  outside  their  own  parish.  If  their  leaders 
would  say,  our  sympathies  must  be  as  wide  as 
those  of  Jesus  Christ,  our  interests  must  be  as 
broad  as  those  of  Jesus  Christ,  it  would  be  very 
different.  We  should  sing  missionary  songs  more. 
There  are  few  missionary  hymns.  Our  hymnol- 
ogy  is  largely  the  outgrowth  of  the  theology  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  Few  hymn-books  have  as  much 
of  the  spirit  of  world-wide  evangelism  as  the  Psalms 
of  David.  But  the  few  hymns  we  have  should  be  sung 
over  and  over  again  till  they  are  as  familiar  as  the 
national  anthem.  We  should  pray  for  the  work  and 
the  workers.  The  one  petition  that  comes  from  the 
field  in  every  mail  is,  "Pray  for  us."  Great  and  effect- 
ual doors  are  opened,  but  there  are  many  adversaries. 
The  difficulties  and  perplexities  are  ten  times  as 
numerous,  and  ten  times  as  great,  as  at  home.  Living 
in  the  chilling  atmosphere  of  heathenism,  they  find 
it  well-nigh  impossible  to  grow  in  grace  and  in  the 
kno^vledge  of  the  truth.  We  should  pray  that  the  Spirit 
of  the  Lord  may  rest  upon  them,  the  Spirit  of  wisdom 
and  understanding,  the  Spirit  of  counsel  and  might, 
the  Spirit  of  knowledge  and  of  the  fear  of  the  Lord. 
We  should  pray  for  them,  that  they  may  have  faith, 
and  patience,  and  courage,  and  persistence  in  the  great 
work  to  which  they  have  been  called.  Missionaries 
do  not  need  our  pity  or  our  tears.  Dr.  Clough  said 
that  a  missionary  is  not  a  machine  that  goes  by  water. 
But  they  do  need  and  should  have  our  prayers.  Our 
thoughts  and  desires  in  public  and  private  worship 
should  not  stop  with  ourselves.     The  first  half  of  the 


THE  SUPREME  MISSION  OF  THE  CHURCH.  17 

Lord's  prayer  is  missionary.  Before  we  ask  for  daily 
bread,  we  are  to  ask  that  God's  will  may  be  done  on 
earth  as  it  is  done  in  heaven.  If  our  first  concern 
when  we  awake  in  the  morning,  and  our  last  concern 
when  we  fall  asleep  at  night,  is  for  the  furtherance  of 
the  Gospel,  we  will  pray  for  the  work  and  the  workers, 
w^e  will  give  the  Lord  no  rest  till  the  knowledge  of  his 
glory  covers  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea. 

Fourthly.  We  need  to  send  out  a  great  many  more 
workers.  The  harvest  truly  is  plenteous ;  the  laborers 
are  few.  China  has  one  ordained  worker  for  700,000 
souls.  If  this  land  was  supplied  at  the  same  rate  we 
would  have  'less  than  150  ministers.  Thirty  years 
ago  Christendom  had  one  single  lady,  Miss  Whately, 
engaged  in  missionary  work  in  Egypt.  Twenty  years 
later  the  same  lady  was  still  there  alone.  A  Brahman 
said  to  an  Englishman,  "Do  the  people  of  England 
really  believe  that  it  would  be  a  good  thing  for  the 
people  of  India  to  become  Christians?"  "Why,  yes, 
to  be  sure  they  do."  "What  I  mean  is.  Do  they  be- 
lieve in  their  hearts  that  the  Hindoos  would  be  better 
and  happier  if  they  were  converted  to  Christ?" 
"Certainly  they  do."  "Why,  then,  do  they  act  in 
such  a  strange  way?  Why  do  they  send  so  few  men  to 
preach  their  religion?  When  there  are  vacancies  in 
the  civil  service,  there  are  numerous  applicants  at 
once;  when  there  is  a  military  expedition,  a  hundred 
officers  volunteer  for  it;  in  commercial  enterprises, 
also,  you  are  full  of  activity,  and  always  have  a  strong 
staff.  But  it  is  different  with  your  religion.  I  see 
one  missionary  with  his  wife  here,  and  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  away  is  another,  and  a  hundred  miles 
in  another  direction  is  a  third.  How  can  the  Church 
of  England  hope  to  convert  the  people  of  India  from 
their  hoary  faith  with  so  little  effort  on  their  part?" 

The  church  has  men  if  she  would  send  them.     If  half 

2 


18  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

the  preachers  in  the  United  States  would  go  out  into 
the  heathen  world  they  would  do  far  more  to  advance 
the  kingdom  of  God  than  they  can  do  l^y  staying  at 
home.     Their  places  would  soon  be  filled,  and  there 
would  be  such  a  revival  as  the  church  has  never  wit- 
nessed.   Only  three  per  cent  of  the  ministry  are  in  the 
mission  fields.     The  Moravians  send  out  one  in  sev- 
enty.    If   the  Disciples  of   Christ  sent  in  the  same 
proportion  they  would  send  ten  thousand  at  least.   One 
of  the  sad  things  about  this  work  is,  that  if  a  young 
man  of  ability  and  culture  offers  to  go  out,  his  friends 
will  tell  him  that  he  is  making  a  fool  of  himself  and 
throwing  his  life  away.     Years  ago  a  yoUng  preacher 
wanted  to  go  to  China  for  us.     He  said  that  of  all  the 
friends   he   had,   only  two  bade  him  God-speed.     A 
young  physician  volunteered  to  go  to  India;  when  the 
members  of  the  church  heard  of  his  purpose  some  of 
them  went  to  him  with  tears  in  their  eyes  and  said, 
"Doctor,  for  God's  sake  don't  make  a  fool  of  your- 
self and  throw  your  life  away."     If  a  young  lady  of 
good  family  and  education  offers  to  go  out,  her  neigh- 
bors will  undertake  to  dissuade  her.    If  she  was.  going 
to   marry   an   Italian   princelet,  or  a  Russian   grand 
duke,  or  an  English  viscount,  they  would  not  do  so; 
they  would  kiss  her  and  congratulate  her  on  her  good 
fortune.     Yet    who    makes    the    nobler   choice— the 
young  lady  like  Harriet  Newell,  or  Ann  Judson,  or 
Carrie  Loos  Williams,  who  gives  her  life  to  seek  and 
to  save  the  lost,  or  the  butterfly  of  fashion,  who  gives 
all  for  a  title  and  a  palace?     When  men  enlist  in  time 
of  war  they  are  not  commiserated  as   if   they  were 
playing  the  fool  and  throwing  their  lives  away.     They 
are   sent   off    with   streaming   banners    and    jubilant 
songs.     They  may  come  back  diseased  or  crippled,  or 
they  may  never  come  back  at  all ;  that  does  not  mat- 
ter.    The   country   needs    their    services,   and    their 


THE  SUPREME  MISSION  OF  THE  CHURCH.  19 

countrymen  rejoice  when  they  volunteer.  If  we  felt 
about  the  evangelization  of  the  world  as  we  ought,  we 
would  feel  the  same  about  the  men  who  say,  "Here 
am  I,  send  me  to  Africa,  or  India,  or  China."  The 
work  needs  more  men,  and  it  needs  the  best.  Our 
Lord's  last  command  cannot  be  obeyed  by  the  few 
scattered  workers  now  in  the  field. 

Fifthly.  We  need  to  give  more  money  to  support 
this  work.  Of  all  moneys  given  in  America  for  relig- 
ious purposes,  less  than  five  per  cent  goes  to  the 
cause  of  missions.  If  we  felt  about  this  work  as  our 
Lord  feels  about  it,  would  the  proportion  be  so 
small?  The  Christian  people  of  this  land  give  one 
thirty-second  part  of  one  per  cent  of  the  wealth  in 
their  hands  for  missions.  If  they  gave  one  per  cent, 
after  using  their  entire  income  on  themselves,  their 
offerings  would  aggregate  not  less  than  $130,000,000. 
Is  one  per  cent  too  much  to  expect  for  this  the  great- 
est of  all  enterprises?  Did  you  ever  critically  exam- 
ine one  of  our  annual  reports?  If  you  did,  you  found 
that  only  one  church  in  four  was  helping  this  work. 
If  we  recognized  the  high  claims  of  this  work  as  we 
ought,  would  this  be  the  case?  You  saw,  also,  that 
hundreds  of  churches  and  individuals  gave  sparingly 
when  they  ought  to  have  given  bountifully.  Timothy 
Coop  gave  all  his  income  during  the  latter  years  of 
his  life;  Albert  Allen  left  a  bequest  of  ten  thousand 
dollars;  Mrs.  Emily  A.  Tubman  left  thirty  thousand; 
Mary  O'Hara,  a  servant  girl,  left  five  hundred. 
When  the  dead,  small  and  great,  stand  before  God, 
this  poor  servant  girl  will  have  a  crown  studded  with 
many  jewels,  and  the  Master  will  say  to  her,  "You 
have  been  faithful  in  a  little,  enter  into  the  joy  of  thy 
Lord."  Two  sisters,  working  for  their  own  living  in 
Scotland,  support  a  third  sister  in  Africa.  Suppose 
all  did  as  well.     The  plea  of  poverty  is  a  false  plea. 


20  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

Before  the  civil  war  Isaac  Errett  said:  "I  am  im- 
pressed with  the  fact  that  we  are  a  wealthy  brother- 
hood— in  many  cases  alarmingly  rich."  We  are  im- 
measurably richer  now  than  we  were  then.  What  is 
needed  is  not  more  money,  but  more  self-abnegation 
and  self-sacrifice;  more  of  the  Spirit  of  Him  who, 
though  rich,  for  our  sakes  became  poor,  that  we 
through  his  poverty  might  become  rich.  There  is  no 
lack  of  money  for  other  things.  Bishop  Coxe  tells  of 
a  man  who  paid  five  cents  a  week  for  church  pur- 
poses and  eight  hundred  dollars  a  year  for  a  stall  in 
the  opera.  Many  families  pay  more  for  a  poodle  than 
it  would  require  to  support  a  native  evangelist.  The 
scale  of  personal  expenses  is  rising  constantly.  Chris- 
tian homes  are  filled  with  costly  furniture  and  orna- 
ments.    We  sing, 

'  'All  the  vain  things  that  charm  me  most, 
I  sacrifice  them  to  His  blood. ' ' 

Does  our  practice  agree  with  this  lofty  sentiment? 
Would  not  a  little  plain  living  and  large  giving  better 
become  the  disciples  of  Him  who  said,  "The  foxes 
have  their  dens,  and  the  birds  have  their  nests,  but 
the  Son  of  Man  has  not  whereon  to  lay  his  head?" 
If  our  chief  concern  is  to  advance  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  among  men,  we  cannot  gratify  the  lust  of  the 
flesh,  the  lust  of  the  eye,  and  the  pride  of  life. 
Sometimes  Christians  say,  "There  are  so  many  calls;" 
and  because  there  are  so  many,  they  give  to  none. 
The  truth  is,  we  ought  to  thank  God  for  every  call 
that  comes  to  us,  for  it  is  a  sign  that  the  Lord's  work 
is  growing.  As  it  grows  it  calls  for  a  more  generous 
support.  Did  you  ever  watch  a  growing  boy?  His 
legs  are  always  too  long  for  his  pantaloons ;  his  arms 
are  always  too  long  for  his  sleeves;  his  clothes  are 
always  in  a  state  of  chronic  smallness.  Did  you  ever 
watch  his  appetite?     It  does  not  make  any  difference 


THE  SUPREME  MISSION  OF  THE  CHURCH.  31 

whether  he  has  three  meals  a  day  or  thirty-three ;  he 
is  always  hungry.  His  stomach  is  a  great  aching 
void;  it  takes  in  everything  in  sight,  and  then  is  as 
empty  as  if  it  had  had  nothing  for  a  week.  What  is  the 
matter?  Nothing.  The  boy  is  growing,  and  he  must 
have  the  stuff  that  makes  manhood.  The  dead  boy 
needs  nothing.  He  has  no  hunger  or  thirst;  his 
clothes  are  large  enough.  In  like  manner  a  dead 
work  needs  nothing  and  issues  no  calls.  But  a  work 
that  is  alive  and  growing  makes  incessant  and  impor- 
tunate demands,  and  they  must  be  met.  These  de- 
mands are  a  measure  of  the  growth  of  the  work.  A 
few  years  ago  we  made  no  demand  for  money  to  sup- 
port the  work  among  the  Freedmen.  Why?  We 
were  doing  nothing  among  that  people.  A  few  years 
ago  we  heard  no  call  for  money  for  Salt  Lake.  Why? 
We  were  doing  nothing  in  that  city.  Since  then  we 
have  planted  a  cutting  from  the  tree  of  life  under 
the  shadow  of  the  upas  of  Mormonism.  We  are 
preaching  the  gospel  in  Salt  Lake  City,  and  we  must 
have  money  to  pay  expenses.  A  few  years  ago  we 
heard  no  calls  for  the  work  in  India,  Japan  and 
China.  Why?  We  had  no  workers  in  those  fields 
and  needed  no  money.  We  have  set  up  our  banners 
beside  the  heathen  temples  and  have  taken  possession 
of  these  lands  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  now 
money  is  needed.  The  work  is  spreading  in  these 
lands  like  a  banyan  tree.  Schools,  chapels,  hospitals, 
orphanages  and  asylums  must  be  provided.  These 
cost  money.  Every  step  in  advance  calls  for  new  out- 
lays. Instead  of  saying,  "There  are  too  man}'  ap- 
peals," and  responding  to  none,  let  us  say,  when  a 
new  appeal  comes,  as  one  of  our  good  preachers  does, 
"Thank  God  for  another  opportunity  to  aid  his 
work." 
I  close  as  I  began.     This  is  the  great  work  of  the 


23  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

church.  It  is  a  matter  with  which  neither  taste  nor 
prejudice,  like  nor  dislike,  has  anything  to  do.  We 
have  no  option  in  the  case.  If  we  are  loyal  to  Christ, 
we  must  do  all  in  our  power  to  obey  his  last  com- 
mand. Be  it  known  and  remembered  that  this  is  not 
one  of  many  objects  having  equal  claims  upon  our 
resources;  this  has  the  first  and  the  highest  of  all 
claims.  The  church  is  able  to  conquer  all  systems  of 
error  and  to  make  disciples  of  all  the  nations.  Nine- 
teen centuries  of  neglect  should  suffice.  Not  another 
century  should  be  allowed  to  pass  without  seeing  this 
work  performed.  Some  are  doing  nobly.  Of  them 
it  can  be  said  that  to  the  extent  of  their  power,  yea, 
and  beyond  their  power,  they  are  contributing  to  the 
accomplishment  of  this  grand  design.  Others  are 
asleep.  They  need  to  hear  the  voice  of  God,  like  a 
fire-bell  at  midnight,  saying,  "Awake,  thou  that  sleep- 
est,  and  arise  from  the  dead,  and  Christ  shall  give 
thee  light."  Others  say,  "We  have  the  truth,"  for- 
getting that  one  may  hold  the  truth  as  unprofitably  as 
a  mummy  holds  seed-corn  in  its  hand.  What  is 
needed  is  that  the  whole  body  of  believers  should  be 
enlisted,  and  that  all  should  do  their  best.  This  work 
must  be  built  into  the  structure  of  our  lives.  We 
must  feel  about  it  as  business  men  feel  about  their 
ventures,  as  politicians  feel  about  the  triumph  of 
their  principles.  Our  supreme  concern  is  not  about 
food  or  raiment,  or  any  of  the  prizes  that  the  world 
offers  its  votaries;  as  Christians,  our  supreme  con- 
cern should  be  to  send  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God 
into  all  the  world  and  to  every  creature.  Our  whole 
duty  has  been  summed  up  in  these  words:  "  Go;  Let 
go;  Help  go."  Some  can  go  out.  They  are  qualified 
for  service  in  the  field.  They  have  health,  scholar- 
ship, aptitude.  They  ought  to  go.  Others  cannot 
go.     They  lack  the  necessary  qualifications.     It  is  for 


THE  SUPREME  MISSION  OF  THE  CHURCH.  23 

them  not  to  oppose  those  who  are  qualified  and  those 
whom  God  calls.  There  is  no  need  that  the  whole 
army  should  tarry  by  the  stuff.  Those  who  cannot  go 
can  help  others  to  go.  What  the  friends  at  home 
need  is  not  more  money,  but  more  of  the  Spirit  of 
Christ.  All  can  help  with  their  means,  with  their 
prayers,  and  with  their  sympathy.  If  Christian  peo- 
ple everywhere  will  look  at  this  work  as  our  Lord 
looks  at  it,  and  make  it  their  first  work,  their  chief 
business,  the  one  great  end  and  aim  of  life,  before 
another  century  shall  have  come  and  gone  the  proph- 
ecy will  be  fulfilled,  "All  the  ends  of  the  earth  have 
seen  the  salvation  of  our  God." 


II. 

THE  GOSPEL  FOR  ALL  NATIONS. 

Unto  me,  who  am  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints,  was  this  grace  given, 
to  preach  unto  the  Gentiles  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ;  and  to  malie  all 
men  see  what  is  the  dispensation  of  the  mystery  which  from  all  ages  hath 
been  hid  in  God  who  created  all  things.— -Bp^.  iii.  8,  9. 

The  Eskimo  calls  himself  the  man.  In  his  opinion 
the  white  man  was  made  first,  but  the  white  man 
having  proved  a  failure,  the  yellow  man,  the  man  par 
excellence,  was  made.  There  are  African  tribes  that 
call  themselves  "the  men."  The  Chinese  speak  of 
themselves  as  Celestials,  and  of  all  others  as  "foreign 
devils."  The  Anglo-Saxons  regard  themselves  su- 
perior to  all  other  peoples.  This  pride  of  race  is 
characteristic  of  humanity.  The  Scriptures  tell  us 
that  God  has  made  of  one  every  nation  of  men  to 
dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth.  Whatever  our 
colors  and  languages,  we  are  all  children  of  one  great 
Father.  He  not  only  created  all  in  his  own  image, 
but  he  made  provision  for  the  redemption  of  all.  We 
learn  from  the  context  that  the  "mystery"  spoken  of 
in  this  passage  was  that  the  Gentiles  should  be  fel- 
low-heirs, and  fellow- members  of  the  body,  and 
fellow-partakers  of  the  promise  in  Christ  Jesus 
through  the  gospel.  Those  who  were  alienated  from 
the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  and  strangers  from  the 
covenants  of  promise,  were  to  become  fellow-citizens 
with  the  saints  and  of  the  household  of  God,  being 

built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  proph- 

(24) 


f^Lll.^lllWiV  .    EN&.CO  I 


OFFICERS   OF  THE   GENERAL  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  CON^^'ENTION. 

1.  C.  C.  Smith,  Secretai-y  of  the  Board  of  Negro  Education  and  Evangelization. 

2.  G.  W.  MucKLKV,  Secretary  of  tlie  Board  of  Churcli  Extension. 

3.  Robert  Moffett,  ex-Corresponding  Secretary. 

4.  J.  A.  Lord,  President  of  tlie  Acting  Board. 

5.  J.  H.  Hardin,  Corresponding  Secretary. 


THE  GOSPEL  FOR  ALL  NATIONS.  25 

ets,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief  corner-stone. 
Our  Lord  broke  down  the  middle  wall  of  partition, 
and  sought  to  reconcile  Jew  and  Gentile  unto  God 
through  the  cross,  having  slain  the  enmity  thereby, 
and  came  and  preached  peace  to  them  that  were  afar 
off,  and  peace  unto  them  that  were  nigh.  In  other 
words,  all  nations  were  to  share  with  the  Jews  in  the 
blessings  of  the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ.  All 
artificial  distinctions  among  nations  were  to  be  abol- 
ished, and  all  nations  were  to  be  dealt  with  as  chil- 
dren of  one  God  and  as  members  of  one  family.  The 
Gospel  is  for  all  men  everywhere.  Its  Author  is  not 
willing  that  any  should  perish,  but  that  all  should 
come  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth.  He  has  decreed 
that  the  Word  of  Life  [shall  be  preached  to  every 
creature  under  heaven.  This  is  the  marvel  of  the 
ages,  Christ  preached  among  all  the  nations  as  the 
hope  of  glory.  This  is  the  mystery  which  had  been 
kept  in  silence  through  times  eternal,  but  now  is 
manifested.  This  is  the  eternal  purpose  which  God 
purposed  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord.  In  speaking  of 
The  Gospel  for  All  Nations,  I  invite  your  attention — 
/.  To  (he  fad  that  missions  have  been  enjoined. 
This  great  fact  is  foreshadowed  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. To  Abraham  the  promise  was  given,  "In  thee 
and  in  thy  seed  shall  all  the  families  of  the  earth  be 
blessed."  That  promise  was  not  confined  to  the  one 
family  that  sprang  from  the  loins  of  the  patriarch:  it 
Avas  extended  to  all  the  families  of  the  earth.  David 
said:  "He  shall  have  dominion  from  sea  to  sea,  and 
from  the  river  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Yea,  all 
kings  shall  fall  down  before  him;  all  nations  shall 
serve  him.  His  name  shall  endure  forever;  his  name 
shall  be  continued  as  long  as  the  sun;  all  nations 
shall  be  blessed  in  him."  The  promise  made  to 
Abraham  is  caught  up  by  the  prophets  and  repeated 


26  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

for  the  encouragement  of  the  people  then  living. 
Isaiah  said:  "It  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  clays 
that  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's  house  shall  be  estab- 
lished in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  shall  be  ex- 
alted above  the  hills;  and  all  nations  shall  flow  unto 
it."  From  Mount  Zion  the  law  of  the  Lord  should 
go  forth  to  all  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Daniel  said:  "I 
saw  in  the  night  visions,  and,  behold,  one  like  the  Son 
of  man  came  with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  came  to 
the  Ancient  of  days,  and  they  brought  him  near  before 
him.  And  there  was  given  him  dominion,  and  glory, 
and  a  kingdom,  that  all  peoples,  nations  and  lan- 
guages should  serve  him;  his  dominion  is  an  everlast- 
ing dominion,  which  shall  not  pass  away;  and  his 
kingdom  that  which  shall  not  be  destroyed."  Several 
empires  have  been  called  world-empires,  but  they 
embraced  only  a  small  portion  of  the  globe.  They 
were  founded  on  violence  and  wickedness,  and  they 
perished.  Of  the  increase  of  Christ's  government 
there  shall  be  no  end.  His  scepter  is  a  right  scepter. 
His  throne  is  forever  and  ever.  Habakkuk  said: 
"For  the  earth  shall  be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of 
the  glory  of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea." 
Through  Malachi  the  Lord  of  hosts  said:  "  For  from 
the  rising  of  the  sun,  even  unto  the  going  down  of 
the  same,  my  name  shall  be  great  among  the  Gentiles, 
and  in  every  place  incense  shall  be  offered  unto  my 
name,  and  a  pure  offering:  for  my  name  shall  be 
great  among  the  heathen."  These  holy  men  of  old 
spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  They 
foresaw  and  foretold  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  not 
a  Jewish  Savior  only :  he  was  the  Savior  of  all  nations. 
His  kingdom  was  destined  to  fill  the  whole  earth,  and 
to  endure  when  "the  sun  is  cold,  and  the  stars  are 
old,  and  the  leaves  of  the  judgment-book  unfold." 
When  we  pass  from  the  Old  Testament  to  the  New, 


THE  GOSPEL  FOR  ALL  NATIONS.  27 

we  find  the  same  thought  presented  with  added  clear- 
ness and  power.  When  the  aged  Simeon  took  the 
child  Jesus  in  his  arms,  he  said,  "Lord,  now  lettest 
thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace,  according  to  thy 
word;  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation,  which 
thou  hast  prepared  for  all  people ;  a  light  to  lighten 
the  Gentiles,  and  the  glory  of  thy  people  Israel."  Ho 
was  to  be  the  Savior  of  both.  John  the  Baptist  said: 
*' Every  valley  shall  be  filled,  and  every  mountain 
shall  be  brought  low;  and  the  crooked  shall  be  made 
straight,  and  the  rough  places  shall  be  made  smooth; 
and  all  flesh  shall  see  the  glory  of  God."  Christ  was 
to  sit  on  the  throne  of  universal  empire.  All  flesh 
shall  see  his  glory.  To  him  every  knee  shall  bow.  In 
his  own  teaching  our  Lord  said:  "  For  God  so  loved 
the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that 
whosoever  believeth  on  him  shall  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life."  God's  love  embraced  the  whole 
race.  He  desires  the  salvation  of  all.  His  eternal 
purpose  was  not  limited  to  Palestine,  or  to  Asia;  it 
had  respect  to  the  world.  Speaking  of  his  death,  he 
said:  "And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will 
draw  all  men  to  me."  His  love,  as  manifested  in  his 
death,  should  draw  all  men,  and  not  a  few  gifted  and 
cultured  souls.  After  he  rose  from  the  dead,  he  said: 
"Thus  it  is  written,  and  thus  it  behoved  Christ  to 
suffer,  and  to  rise  from  the  dead  on  the  third  day; 
and  that  repentance  and  remission  of  sins  should  be 
preached  in  his  name  among  all  the  nations,  begin- 
ning at  Jerusalem."  What  had  been  foretold  must 
come  to  pass.  Through  his  death  he  became  the 
author  of  eternal  redemption  to  all  them  that  obey 
him.  And  now  the  good  news  must  be  sent  out  to  all 
the  nations.  Just  before  his  ascension  he  said  to  his 
disciples:  "But  you  shall  receive  power,  when  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  come  upon  you;  and  ye  shall  be  my 


28  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

witnesses  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judea  and 
Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth." 
The  Jews  were  God's  chosen  people.  To  them  per- 
tained the  adoption,  and  the  glory,  and  the  covenants, 
and  the  giving  of  the  law,  and  the  services  of  God, 
and  the  promises.  But  they  had  no  monopoly  of  the 
divine  favor.  Truth  is  the  birthright  of  every  human 
soul;  Christ  is  the  light  that  lighteth  every  man  that 
cometh  into  the  world.  His  unsearchable  riches  are 
to  be  preached  to  all.  In  this  the  manifold  wisdom 
of  God  is  seen.  This  is  in  accordance  with  the  pur- 
pose of  the  ages  which  he  purposed  in  Christ  Jesus 
our  Lord.  The  gospel  of  the  glory  of  the  blessed 
God  is  to  be  preached  to  every  creature  under  heaven 
for  the  obedience  of  the  faith.  The  field  of  its  tri- 
umphs is  the  world.  It  recognizes  no  distinctions 
based  upon  race  or  condition.  The  apostles  empha- 
size the  same  truth.  On  the  day  of  Pentecost  Peter 
quoted  from  the  prophecy  of  Joel:  "And  it  shall  be, 
that  whosoever  shall  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord 
shall  be  saved."  Peter  spoke,  not  his  own  senti- 
ments, but  what  the  Spirit  prompted.  Every  soul  in 
any  age  and  in  any  land  can  claim  this  promise  as  his 
own.  Writing  to  the  Galatians,  Paul  said:  "Christ 
redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  having  be- 
come a  curse  for  us;  for  it  is  written,  Cursed  is  every 
one  that  hangeth  on  a  tree :  that  upon  the  Oentiles 
might  come  the  blessing  of  Abraham  in  Christ  Jesus; 
that  we  might  receive  the  promise  of  the  Spirit 
through  faith."  And  again:  "  There  can  be  neither 
Jew  nor  Greek,  there  can  be  neither  bond  nor  free, 
there  can  be  no  male  and  female ;  for  ye  are  all  one 
man  in  Christ  Jesus.  And  if  ye  are  Christ's,  then  are 
ye  Abraham's  seed,  heirs  according  to  the  promise." 
Writing  to  Titus,  he  said:  "For  the  grace  of  God 
hath  appeared,  bringing  salvation  to  all  men,  instruct- 


THE  GOSPEL  FOR  ALL  NATIONS.  39 

ing  us,  to  the  intent  that,  denying  ungodliness  and 
worldly  lusts,  we  should  live  soberly  and  righteously 
and   godly  in  this  present  world."     Writing  to  the 
church  in  Rome,  he  said:     "  Whoever  shall  call  upon 
the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be   saved."     "How  then 
shall  they  call  on  him  in  whom  they  have  not  be- 
.  lieved?     And  how  shall  they  believe  in  him  whom 
they  have  not  heard?     And  how  shall  they  hear  with- 
out a  preacher?     And  how  shall  they  preach,  except 
they  be  sent?     Even  as  it  is  written,  How  beautiful 
are  the  feet  of  them  that  bring  glad  tidings  of  good 
things!  "     The  gospel  is  for  all.     This  is  God's  ordi- 
nance.     But    men    cannot    hear     unless    some    one 
preaches.     God's  ordinance  is  that  those  who  have 
the  truth  are  to  send  it  to  those  who  have  it  not. 
John  saw  an  angel  flying  in  mid-heaven,  having  an 
eternal  gospel  to  proclaim  to  them  that  dwell  on  the 
earth,  and  unto  every  nation,  and  tribe,  and  tongue, 
and  people;  and  he  saith  with  a  great  voice:     "  Fear 
God,  and  give  him  glory;  for  the  hour  of  his  judg- 
ment   is    come:     and   worship    him    that    made    the 
heavens  and  the  earth  and  the  sea  and  the  fountains 
of  waters."     He  saw  also  a  great  multitude,  which  no 
man  could  number,  out  of  every  nation,  and  of  all 
tribes  and  peoples  and  tongues,  standing  before  the 
throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb,  arrayed  in  white  robes, 
and  palms  in  their  hands;  and  they  cry  with  a  great 
voice,  saying,  "Salvation  unto  our  God  which  sitteth 
on  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb."     Christ  has  on 
his  vesture  and  his  thigh  the  inscription,  "King  of 
kings,  and  Lord  of  lords."     He  must  reign  till  every 
enemy  is  put  under  his  feet.      The  kingdom  of  this 
world  must  become  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  of 
his  Christ.     When  his  task  is  done,  the  ransomed  of 
the  Lord  shall  chant  the  thunder-psalm  of  victory, 
"Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  hath  been  slain  to  receive 


30  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

the  power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and  might,  and 
honor,  and  glory,  and  blessing."  God's  purpose  of 
grace  and  glory  will  not  be  consummated  until  the 
whole  world  is  evangelized.  The  gospel  must  be 
preached  far  as  the  curse  is  found. 

II.  I  ask  you  to  note  that  missions  have  been 
opposed.  The  early  church  did  not  understand  that 
the  gospel  was  for  all  men  ev^erywhere.  The  apostles 
did  not  understand  this  at  the  beginning.  On  the  day 
of  Pentecost  Peter  quoted  the  words:  "And  it  shall 
be  in  the  last  days,  saith  God,  I  will  pour  out  my 
Spirit  upon  all  flesh;  and  your  sons  and  your  daugh- 
ters shall  prophesy,  and  your  young  men  shall  see  vis- 
ions, and  your  old  men  shall  dream  dreams;  yea,  and 
on  my  servants  and  on  my  handmaidens  in  those 
days  will  I  pour  forth  of  my  Spirit;  and  they  shall 
prophesy."  "And  it  shall  be,  that  whosoever  shall 
call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved."  But 
when  Peter  was  asked  to  go  out  and  preach  to  the 
household  of  Cornelius,  he  demurred.  That  was 
ten  years  after  Pentecost.  The  Lord  had  to  show 
him  that  significant  vision  of  the  sheet  let  down 
from  heaven,  wherein  were  all  manner  of  four-footed 
beasts  and  creeping  things  and  fowls  of  the  earth. 
When  Peter  was  told  to  rise,  kill  and  eat,  he  said, 
"Not  so.  Lord;  for  I  have  never  eaten  anything 
that  is  common  and  unclean."  The  voice  replied, 
"What  God  hath  cleansed,  make  not  thou  com- 
mon." This  was  done  three  times.  It  was  not  easy 
to  dislodge  Peter's  prejudice.  You  remember  how 
he  said  to  Cornelius  and  to  his  family,  "Ye  your- 
selves know  how  that  it  is  an  unlawful  thing  for 
a  man  that  is  a  Jew  to  join  himself  or  come  unto  one 
of  another  nation ;  and  yet  unto  me  hath  God  showed 
that  I  should  not  call  any  man  common  or  unclean." 
He  added:     "Of  a  truth  I  perceive  that  God  is  no 


THE  GOSPEL  FOR  ALL  NATIONS.  31 

respecter  of  persons;  but  in  every  nation  he  that 
feareth  him,  and  worketh  righteousness,  is  acceptable 
to  him."  One  would  have  thought  that  Peter  under- 
stood that  when  on  that  mountain  in  Galilee  the  Mas- 
ter said,  "Ail  authority  in  heaven  and  on  earth  has 
been  given  unto  me:  go  ye,  therefore,  and  make  dis- 
ciples of  all  the  nations,  baptizing  them  into  the  name 
of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit; " 
or  when  he  stood  on  Mount  Olivet,  just  before  the 
x\.scension,  and  heard  the  words,  "But  you  shall 
receive  power  after  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  come  upon 
you,  and  you  shall  be  my  witnesses  first  in  Jerusalem, 
and  in  all  Judea  and  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost 
part  of  the  earth."  But  ten  years  had  passed,  and 
Peter  had  not  grasped  the  great  truth  that  the  gospel 
is  for  the  whole  world  and  for  every  human  soul. 
Peter  was  first  in  the  apostolic  college;  he  had  the 
keys  of  the  kingdom;  but  for  ten  years  he  did  not 
know  for  what  purpose  these  keys  were  given.  The 
vision  he  saw  in  Joppa  won  Peter  to  world-wide 
evangelism.  When  he  went  back  to  Jerusalem  some 
men  took  him  to  task  for  his  conduct  in  Ca^sarea. 
They  said  to  him,  "You  went  in  unto  men  uncircum- 
cised  and  did  eat  with  them."  He  expounded  the 
matter  to  them  in  order,  and  closed  by  telling  them 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  fell  on  his  hearers  while  he  was 
yet  speaking  to  them,  even  as  he  had  on  the  apostles 
at  the  beginning.  "If  then  God  gave  unto  them  the 
like  gift  as  he  did  also  unto  us,  when  we  believed  on 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  was  I  that  I  could  with- 
stand God?"  That  was  the  crowning  proof  of  their 
acceptance.  The  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  a  dem- 
onstration. When  they  heard  these  things,  they  held 
their  peace,  and  glorified  God,  saying,  "Then  to  the 
Gentiles  also  hath  God  granted  repentance  unto  life." 
Prior  to  this  the  separation  between  Jew  and  Gentile 


32  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

was  absolute.  It  took  time  to  make  the  apostles 
realize  that  God  was  no  respecter  of  persons.  In 
Antioch  Peter  ate  with  the  Gentiles  before  certain 
men  came  from  James.  When  they  came  he  drew 
back  and  separated  himself,  because  he  feared  the 
Jews.  And  the  rest  of  the  Jews  dissembled  likewise 
with  him;  insomuch  that  even  Barnabas  was  carried 
away  with  their  dissimulation.  Paul  resisted  Peter  to 
the  face,  because  he  stood  condemned.  The  purpose 
of  God  was  so  large  and  generous  that  even  the  men 
who  knew  most  of  Christ  were  slow  of  heart  to  com- 
prehend it.  The  early  church  was  slow  to  grasp  this 
truth.  They  had  the  Commission.  They  knew  it 
said,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel 
to  the  Avhole  creation."  But  they  did  not  think  it 
meant  what  it  said,  and  they  had  no  more  trouble  in 
reconciling  their  disobedience  with  the  divine  require- 
ment than  myriads  of  Christian  people  have  now. 
We  are  told  that  those  who  v<^ere  scattered  upon  the 
persecution  that  arose  about  Stephen,  traveled  as  far 
as  to  Phenice,  and  Cyprus,  and  Antioch,  preaching 
the  word  to  none  but  Jews  only.  Why  so?  Simply 
because  they  did  not  understand  that  the  gospel  was 
for  every  child  of  God  on  the  globe.  Little  by  little 
they  come  to  see  that  there  is  no  difference.  For  all 
races  and  nations  and  classes  and  conditions  there  is 
one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  one  God  and 
Father  of  all,  who  is  above  all,  and  through  all,  and 
in  all.  As  this  view  prevailed  they  felt  that  there  is 
no  distinction  between  the  Jew  and  the  Greek;  for 
the  same  Lord  is  Lord  of  all,  and  is  rich  unto  all  that 
call  upon  him.  The  early  church  came  slowly  but 
surely  to  see  that  the  gospel  was  not  for  Palestine 
only,  or  for  Asia  only,  but  that  it  was  for  the  whole 
wide  world  and  for  every  human  soul.  Feeling  this, 
they  ceased  their  opposition  and  undertook  to  sound 


THE  GOSPEL  FOR  ALL  NATIONS.  33 

it  out,  that  all  men  everywhere  might  hear  aad  l^elieve 
and  obey  and  be  saved. 

In  later  times  the  idea  of  sending  the  gospel  to  the 
heathen  met  with  fierce  and  wide-spread  opposition. 
The  Faculty  of  Wittenberg  University  spoke  of  the 
missionaries  as  false  prophets.  About  a  century  ago 
a  sermon  was  preached  in  Germany  to  show  that  mis- 
sions were  not  necessary.  The  preacher  closed  with 
these  words: 

'  'In  former  times  'twas  rightly  said, 
'  Go  forth  to  every  land , ' 
But  now  whei'e  God  has  cast  your  lot, 
There  shall  you  ever  stand. ' ' 

Our  Lord  said,  "Go  into  all  the  world,  and 
preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature."  But  Ger- 
man infidelity  in  the  pulpit  said,  "No;  stay  where 
you  are,  and  give  yourself  no  concern  about  the 
unevangelized. "  The  Church  of  Scotland  declared 
that  to  spread  abroad  the  knowledge  of  the  gospel 
among  barbarian  and  heathen  nations  was  highly 
preposterous,  insomuch  as  it  anticipated,  nay,  re- 
versed the  order  of  nature:  men  must  be  polished 
and  refined  in  their  manners  before  they  can  be 
profitably  enlightened  in  religious  truth.  Missions 
were  opposed  on  the  same  ground  as  vaccination. 
It  was  an  impious  attempt  to  interfere  with  the 
purpose  of  God,  who  had  been  pleased  to  leave 
the  heathen  world  in  darkness.  In  the  English 
House  of  Lords  it  was  said  by  a  duke  that  missions 
are  either  a  gigantic  impracticability,  or  an  organized 
hypocrisy,  and  that  every  man  engaged  in  them  must 
be  either  a  fanatic  or  an  impostor.  Sydney  Smith 
denounced  missionaries  as  vermin,  and  said  they 
ought  to  be  caught  and  cracked  and  exterminated. 
In  this  country  the  incorporation  of  the  American 
Board  was  opposed  on  the  ground  that  we  had  no 


34  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

religion  to  export;  we  had  too  little  at  home. 
Preachers  of  the  gospel  insisted  that  missions  were 
highly  preposterous,  and  missionaries  were  rightl}^ 
suspected.  The  idea  of  sending  the  gospel  to  the 
heathen  was  regarded  as  the  very  essence  of  folly. 

There  are  some  living  now  who  oppose  missions 
because,  as  they  allege,  there  are  heathen  at  home. 
As  long  as  there  are  those  at  home  who  do  not  be- 
lieve in  the  Christ,  they  are  not  disposed  to  do  any- 
thing to  send  the  gospel  to  the  unsaved  elsewhere. 
The  apostles  mic;ht  have  used  the  same  argument. 
The}'  might  have  said,  "We  will  wait  here  in  Jerusa- 
lem till  every  person  in  this  city  becomes  a  believer 
before  we  go  out  into  Judea,  or  Samaria,  or  Galilee." 
Suppose  they  had,  what  would  have  been  the  result? 
Christianity  would  have  perished  in  its  cradle,  and 
the  voice  of  those  men  never  would  have  been  heard 
beyond  the  walls  of  the  city  of  the  Great  King.  But 
they  did  not  do  that.  The  Master  said  to  them, 
"You  shall  be  my  witnesses,  first  in  Jerusalem,  and  in 
all  Judea  and  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  part 
of  the  earth."  These  were  their  marching  orders, 
and  they  obeyed  them  in  the  spirit  and  in  the  letter 
of  them.  Tradition  tells  us  that  in  the  lifetime  of 
the  apostles  the  gospel  was  carried  into  Arabia,  Egypt, 
Mesopotamia,  Parthia,  Persia,  Spain,  France,  Britain, 
and  as  far  east  as  the  frontiers  of  India.  They 
preached  to  the  Jews  first.  So  Peter  said,  "  Ye  are 
the  children  of  the  prophets,  and  of  the  covenant 
which  God  made  with  our  fathers,  saying  unto  Abra- 
ham, And  in  thy  seed  shall  all  the  kindreds  of  the 
earth  be  blessed.  Unto  you  first  God,  having  raised 
up  his  Son  Jesus,  sent  him  to  bless  you,  in  turning 
away  every  one  of  you  from  his  iniquities."  It  was 
the  divine  purpose  that  they  should  hear  the  gospel 
first,  and  they  did  hear  it  first.     Speaking  to  the  same 


THE  GOSPEL  FOR  ALL  NATIONS.  35 

people,  Paul  said,  "  It  was  necessary  that  the  word  of 
God  should  first  be  spoken  to  you.  Seeing  ye  thrust 
it  from  you,  and  judge  yourselv^es  unworthy  of  eternal 
life,  lo,  we  turn  to  the  Gentiles.  For  so  hath  the 
Lord  commanded  us,  saying,  I  have  set  thee  for  a 
light  to  the  Gentiles,  that  thou  shouldest  be  for  salva- 
tion unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth."  Again  it 
is  said  that  when  Silas  and  Timotheus  came  down 
from  Macedonia,  Paul  was  constrained  by  the  word, 
testifying  to  the  Jews  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ.  And 
when  they  opposed  themselves,  and  blasphemed,  he 
shook  out  his  raiment,  and  said  unto  them,  "Your 
blood  be  upon  3'our  own  heads;  I  am  clean:  from 
henceforth  I  will  go  unto  the  Gentiles."  He  preached 
first  unto  the  Jews.  He  began  in  the  synagogue. 
Afterwards  he  sought  to  reach  the  Gentiles.  In  this 
he  was  acting  in  accordance  with  what  the  prophets 
had  said.  Had  not  the  Jews  been  blinded  by  preju- 
dice they  would  have  seen  this.  Did  not  their  own 
Scriptures  speak  in  the  most  exalted  strains  about  the 
calling  of  the  Gentiles?  "The  Gentiles  shall  come  to 
thy  light,  and  kings  to  the  brightness  of  thy  rising. 
The  abundance  of  the  sea  shall  be  converted  unto 
thee.  Thou  shalt  suck  the  milk  of  the  nations,  and 
thou  shalt  suck  the  breast  of  kings.  Behold  my  ser- 
vant, whom  I  uphold,  mine  elect,  in  whom  my  soul 
delighteth:  I  have  put  my  Spirit  upon  him;  he  shall 
bring  forth  judgment  to  the  Gentiles.  He  shall  not 
cry,  nor  lift  up,  nor  cause  his  voice  to  be  heard  in  the 
streets.  A  bruised  reed  shall  he  not  break,  and  the 
smoking  flax  shall  he  not  quench:  he  shall  bring  forth 
judgment  unto  truth.  He  shall  not  fail  nor  be  dis- 
couraged till  he  have  set  judgment  in  the  earth:  and 
the  isles  shall  wait  for  his  law."  These  predictions 
ought  to  have  made  it  clear  that  the  whole  race  was 
to  hear  the  gospel.     The  apostles,  in  their  great  mis- 


36  MISSIONARY   ADDRESSES. 

sionary  tours,  were  fulfilling  these  prophecies  and  not 
destroying  them. 

If  we  will  wait  at  home  till  every  person  at  home  is 
saved,  we  will  wait  forever.  Our  Lord  could  not  con- 
vert all  the  people  in  any  city  in  which  he  preached. 
The  cities  which  he  upbraided  most  on  account  of 
their  impenitence  were  the  cities  in  which  most  of  his 
mighty  works  were  done.  "  Woe  unto  thee,  Chorazin ! 
woe  unto  thee,  Bethsaida!  for  if  the  mighty  works 
had  been  done  in  Tyre  and  Sidon  which  were  done  in 
you,  they  would  have  repented  long  ago  in  sackcloth 
and  ashes."  "And  thou,  Capernaum,  shalt  thou  be 
exalted  unto  heaven?  thou  shalt  go  down  unto  Hades: 
for  if  the  mighty  works  had  been  done  in  Sodom  which 
were  done  in  thee,  it  would  have  remained  until  this 
day."  Paul  could  not  convert  all  the  people  in  any 
city  in  which  he  preached.  Some  believed,  some  dis- 
believed. The  believers  formed  a  church;  the  disbe- 
lievers formed  a  mob  to  throttle  it  in  its  infancy. 
England  has  had  the  gospel  for  more  than  a  thousand 
years,  and  all  the  people  in  England  are  not  converted 
yet,  England  has  more  home  missionary  work  on  her 
hands  than  she  has  had  at  any  time  since  Augustine 
preached  to  Ethelbert  and  his  heathen  court.  If  the 
Christian  people  of  England  were  to  wait  at  home  till 
every  drunkard,  sensualist,  gambler,  and  worldly- 
minded  man  and  woman  is  won  to  the  faith,  they 
might  as  well  dismiss  all  thought  of  ever  doing  any 
thing  in  the  regions  beyond.  In  this  country  we  have 
one  minister  for  every  eight  hundred  people,  and  one 
Christian  worker  for  every  forty  people,  and  one 
believer  for  every  four  persons  of  the  pojDulation.  If 
men  are  heathen  in  this  land  of  Christian  institutions, 
it  is  from  choice  and  not  from  necessity.  It  is  be- 
cause they  prefer  to  be  heathen,  and  not  because  they 
cannot  discover  the  way  of  life  and  salvation.     It  is 


THE  GOSPEL  FOR,  ALL  NATIONS.  37 

because  their  hearts  are  waxed  gross,  aud  their  ears 
are  dull  of  hearing,  and  their  eyes  have  they  closed ; 
lest  they  should  see  with  their  eyes,  aud  hear  with 
their  ears,  and  understand  with  their  heart,  and  should 
turn  and  be  healed.     Keble  says, 

'  'The  deaf  may  hear  the  Savior's  voice, 

The  fettered  tongue  its  chain  may  break ; 
But  the  deaf  heart ,  the  dumb  by  choice , 

The  laggard  soul  that  will  not  wake, 
The  guilt  that  scorns  to  be  forgiven^ 

These  baffle  even  the  spells  of  heaven : 
In  thought  of  these  his  brows  benign 

Not  even  in  healing  cloudless  shine. ' ' 

Is  it  right  to  waste  all  our  time  and  means  on  those 
who  will  not  be  persuaded  to  believe  and  obey,  while 
there  are  myriads  of  honest  souls  who  never  had  a 
chance  to  hear  the  word  of  hope?  It  was  not  thus 
that  our  Lord  and  his  apostles  acted.  They  gave  the 
people  at  home  a  fair  chance,  and  then  went  to  others 
and  did  likewise.  If  any  perished,  their  blood  was  on 
their  own  heads. 

That  we  are  Christians  ourselves  is  owing  to  the  fact 
that  in  ages  past  there  were  saintly  and  heroic  spirits 
who  would  not  stay  at  home.  They  hazarded  their 
lives  in  their  etforts  to  win  our  ancestors  to  the  truth. 
Go  back  a  thousand  years  and  more,  and  what  were 
our  forefathers?  They  were  wild  men  of  the  woods, 
who  tattooed  themselves,  who  ate  human  flesh  and 
drank  human  blood,  and  rejoiced  in  a  community  of 
wives.  When  the  gospel  reached  them  they  were  as 
low  in  the  scale  of  morals  and  civilization  as  the  Hot- 
tentots of  Central  Africa.  The  gospel  reached  them 
in  their  low  estate  and  uplifted  and  ennobled  them. 
The  gospel  gave  us  our  homes,  our  property,  our  cul- 
ture, our  morals,  our  hope  of  immortality  and  eternal 
life.  We  would  be  no  better  off  in  any  respect  than 
so  many  baboons  if  it  were  not  for  the  gospel,  and  the 
gospel  was  carried  to  our  ancestors  by  foreign  mission- 


38  MISSIONARY   ADDRESSES. 

afies,  and  these  missionaries  were  sustained  by  the  con- 
tributions of  few  and  feeble  churches.  Who  carried 
the  gospel  to  England?  Augustine,  an  Italian.  Who 
carried  it  to  Ireland?  Saint  Patrick,  a  Scotchman. 
Who  carried  it  to  Scotland?  Columba,  an  Irishman. 
Who  carried  it  to  Germany?  Boniface,  an  English- 
man. Who  carried  it  to  Scandinavia?  Anskar,  a 
Frenchman.  Who  carried  it  to  Europe?  Paul,  in 
answer  to  the  cry  of  the  man  of  Macedonia,  "Come 
over  and  help  us."  The  Pilgrim  Fathers  brought  the 
gospel  with  them  in  the  Mayflower  to  Plymouth  Rock; 
the  Cavaliers  brought  it  with  them  to  Jamestown; 
and  we  are  what  we  are  because  we  and  our  ancestors 
have  been  living  under  its  refining  and  sanctifying 
influence  through  so  many  centuries.  Some  men  ask 
if  man  came  from  a  monkey  or  not.  Whatever  answer 
may  be  given  to  the  question,  it  is  certain  we  came 
from  a  heathen  ancestry.  The  evidence  of  this  is 
written  all  over  us;  it  is  woven  in  with  the  warp  and 
woof  of  all  our  institutions.  In  this  country  when  a 
man  gets  rich  his  wife  wants  a  pedigree  and  a  coat  of 
arms.  Pedigree!  The  less  said  about  the  past  the 
better.  Go  back  far  enough  and  you  will  find  your 
forefathers  sleeping  in  tree-tops  or  in  dens  and  caves 
to  protect  themselves  against  wild  beasts  and  wilder 
neighbors,  and  against  the  frost  and  rain.  When 
Augustine  heard  of  the  savagery  of  the  people  of 
England  he  was  afraid  to  proceed,  and  turned  back. 
Some  think  it  useless  to  send  the  gospel  to  the  heathen 
now.  A  thousand  years  ago,  when  it  was  proposed  to 
send  the  gospel  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  the  same 
thing  was  said. 

Whether  missions  are  Avorth  much  or  little,  they 
have  made  us  what  we  are.  They  have  given  us  our 
splendid  civilization.  They  v/on  us  from  Druidism 
and  other  forms  of  idolatry,  to  the  love  and  practice 


THE  GOSPEL  FOR  ALL  NATIONS.  39 

of  truth  and  righteousness.  We  who  live  in  this 
great  and  good  land,  this  land  that  is  Immanuel's 
land,  this  land  that  is  the  Canaan  of  the  West — we,  of 
all  people,  owe  most  to  this  cau.^e,  and  we  ought  to 
do  most  and  give  most  and  pray  most  that  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  glory  of  the  Lord  may  cover  the  earth, 
even  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea.  James  Russell 
Lowell  well  says  that  "those  who  scoff  may  be  thank- 
ful that  they  live  in  a  land  where  the  gospel  has 
tamed  the  beastliness  and  ferocity  of  men  who,  but 
for  Christianity,  might  long  ago  have  eaten  their  car- 
casses, like  the  South  Sea  Islanders,  or  cut  off  their 
heads  and  tanned  their  hides  like  the  monsters  of  the 
French  Revolution."     It  is  even  so. 

We  came  from  a  heathen  ancestry,  and  cannot 
deny  it.  We  call  the  first  day  of  the  week  "Sun- 
day," and  why  ?  Because  our  forefathers  used 
to  worship  the  sun  on  that  day;  so  it  is  the  Sun's 
day,  or  Sunday.  The  next  day  we  call  "Monday," 
and  why?  Because  our  forefathers  used  to  worship 
the  moon  on  that  day;  so  it  is  the  Moon's  day,  or 
Monday.  The  next  day  we  call  "Tuesday,"  and 
why?  Because  our  heathen  ancestors  used  to  worship 
the  god  Tvvi  on  that  day;  so  it  is  Twi's  day,  or  Tues- 
day. The  next  day  we  call  "Wednesday,"  and  why? 
Because  our  heathen  ancestors  used  to  worship  the 
god  Woden  on  that  day;  so  it  is  Woden's  day,  or 
Wednesday.  The  next  day  we  call  "Thursday,"  and 
why?  Because  our  pagan  progenitors  used  to  worship 
Thor  on  that  day;  so  it  is  Thor's  day,  or  Thursday. 
The  next  day  we  call  "Friday,"  and  why?  Because 
on  that  day  Friga  was  worshiped;  so  it  is  Friga's  day, 
or  Friday.  The  last  day  of  the  week  we  call  "  Satur- 
day," and  why?  Because  on  that  day  Satur  was  wor- 
shiped; so  it  is  Satur's  day,  or  Saturday.  The  name 
of  every  day  of  the  seven  is  a  standing  memorial  of 


40  MISSIONARY   ADDRESSES. 

the  hole  of  the  pit  of  heathenism  out  of  which  we  have 
been  digged,  and  the  rock  of  paganism  from  which  we 
have  been  hewn.  We  have  a  festival  we  call  "Eas- 
ter." Where  did  we  get  this  festival?  It  is  not  Jew- 
ish nor  Christian  in  its  origin.  It  was  an  old  Ger- 
manic festival  held  in  honor  of  Spring.  After  the 
conversion  of  the  Germanic  tribes,  they  took  this  fes- 
tival and  cleansed  it  and  sanctified  it  and  made  it  the 
brightest  festival  in  the  whole  calendar,  the  symbol  of 
our  resurrection  from  our  dusty  beds  to  immortality 
and  eternal  life.  The  gospel  underlies  our  civilization 
as  a  root  underlies  a  plant,  giving  it  life  and  beauty 
and  fragrance.  Take  from  our  civilization  and  out 
of  our  lives  all  that  we  drew  from  the  gospel,  and  we 
will  be  no  better  off  than  the  savage  or  than  the  brute 
that  perishes. 

All  nations  shall  hear  th*e  gospel.  This  is  the  pur- 
pose of  God.  We  may  help  the  accomplishment  of 
this  grand  design,  or  we  may  hinder  it;  we  cannot 
defeat  it.  With  us  or  without  us,  the  work  shall  be 
done.  If  we  do  our  duty,  when  the  sowers  and  reap- 
ers rejoice  together  we  shall  share  with  them  in  the 
glory  of  the  eternal  harvest-home.  If  we  oppose  or 
stand  aloof,  the  work  shall  be  done  in  spite  of  us,  or 
without  us,  but  in  the  great  day  of  rejoicing  we  shall 
be  in  the  outer  darkness.  Paul  felt  as  each  one  of  us 
should  feel,  "  Unto  me,  who  am  less  than  the  least  of 
all  saints,  was  tliis  grace  given,  that  I  should  preach 
among  the  Gentiles  the  unsearchable  riches  of 
Christ."  God  had  signally  honored  him  in  calling 
him  to  help  him  save  a  lost  world.  In  this  work  he 
was  scourged,  he  was  stoned,  he  was  shipwrecked,  he 
was  cold,  hungry,  naked  and  weary;  but  none  of 
these  things  moved  him.  Neither  did  he  count  his 
life  as  of  any  account  unto  himself  if  he  could  finish 
his  course  with  joy,  and  the  ministry  which  he  had 


THE  GOSPEL  FOR  ALL  NATIONS.  41 

received  of  the  Lord  Jesus  to  testify  the  gospel  of  the 
grace  of  God. 

So  all  should  feel.  Instead  of  filling  our  mouths 
with  excuses  that  will  not  stand  the  test  of  the  judg- 
ment da3%  Ave  should  do  our  best.  We  should  be 
willing  to  have  fellowship  with  Christ  in  his  suffer- 
ings. All  can  help;  all  ought  to  help.  In  France 
there  is  no  exemption  from  military  service;  every 
man  must  become  a  conscript.  So  it  is  iu  Christ's 
cause.  He  accepts  no  substitute.  We  can  all  do 
something  toward  pulling  down  Satan's  strongholds. 
We  can  all  help  send  the  gospel  to  the  thousand  mill- 
ions who  are  sitting  in  darkness,  without  hope  and 
without  God  in  the  world.  We  can  help  with  our 
prayers,  with  our  means,  and  with  our  sympathy.  To 
each  of  us  the  command  comes,  "Go  and  make  disci- 
ples of  all  the  nations."  May  God  help  us  to  do  our 
whole  duty,  so  that  when  the  ransomed  of  the  Lord 
shall  surround  the  great  white  throne  and  cast  upon 
the  jasper  pavements  their  crowns  of  amaranth  and 
gold,  we  may  be  there  and  share  in  the  universal  joy. 


III. 

ENCOURAGEMENT  IN  MISSIONS. 

Send  forth  thj^  sickle,   and  reap:  for  the  hour  to  reap  is  come;  for  the 
harvest  of  the  earth  is  over-ripe. — Bev.  xiv.  15. 

The  outlook  for  the  evangelization  of  the  world 
was  never  so  bright  and  so  full  of  promise  as  now. 
Barriers  that  seemed  insuperable  a  century  ago  have 
been  as  completely  demolished  as  the  walls  of 
Jericho.  Favorable  and  fostering  influences  have 
sprung  up  as  if  by  magic  where  the  most  hopeful 
looked  for  nothing  but  bitter  and  unconquerable 
opposition.  Facilities  for  carrying  on  the  work  have 
multiplied  on  every  hand.  Great  and  effectual  doors 
have  been  providentially  opened.  Nations  that  sat 
in  darkness  behind  their  barred  gates  and  stubbornly 
and  sullenly  rejected  the  truth,  are  now  calling  for 
it.  God  is  evidently  arranging  to  give  the  nations 
to  his  Son  for  his  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost 
part  of  the  earth  for  his  possession.  I  wish  to  speak 
of  some  Encmiraijenients  in  Missionary  ^Vol■l■.  It  may 
strengthen  our  faith,  and  increase  our  zeal,  and  en- 
large our  liberality,  to  consider  some  facts  bearing 
on  this  subject. 

/.  Let  us  note  that  the  clmrch  has  a  better  under- 
stan.dhig  of  her  dniy  to  the  unsaved  than  she  has  had 
since  the  days  of  the  apostles.  She  knows  now  that 
she  is  called  of  God  to  go  into  all  the  world  and 
preach   the  gospel  to  the  whole  creation.     For  ages 

she  thought  tliat  the   Lord  would  convert  the  non- 

(42) 


WORKERS   IN   CHINA. 

F.  E.  MFirjs,  N.inkin,  Mrs.  F.  E.  IMeigs,  Nankin. 

Mr.  and  Mus.  James  Ware  and  Miss  Emily  Gatrew,  Shanghai. 
E.  T.  Williams,  Nankin.  Mrs.  E.  T.  Williams,  Nankin. 


ENCOURAGEMENT  IN   MISSIONS.  43 

Christian  nations,  when  the  set  time  to  favor  them 
was  come,  without  any  human  aid  or  agency  what- 
ever. Christian  people  were  at  ease  in  Zion,  waiting 
for  the  Lord  to  make  bare  his  arm  and  save  the 
world  by  an  exercise  of  his  sovereign  and  almighty 
power.  Missions  were  regarded  as  not  only  foolish, 
but  criminal.  Less  than  a  century  ago  a  religious 
editor  said,  "I  think  it  is  my  duty  to  crush  the 
rising  missionary  spirit."  The  anti-missionary  spirit 
was  so  strong  in  one  Association  in  Ohio  that  six 
churches  were  expelled  because  they  favored  Sundaj'- 
schools,  Missions,  Bible  and  Temperance  Societies. 
When  it  was  proposed  to  organize  the  Church  Mis- 
sionary Society  the  leading  spirits  sought  the  approv- 
al of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  He  considered 
the  matter  for  a  year  and  a  half,  and  then  replied 
that  "  he  regretted  that  he  could  not  with  propriety 
at  once  express  his  full  concurrence."  The  men 
that  molded  religious  sentiment  were  almost  a  unit 
in  condemning  and  opposing  the  missionary  enter- 
prise. It  was  confidently  asserted  that  no  man  of 
moderation  and  good  sense  could  be  found  to  enter 
the  field.  When  the  present  century  began  no 
regularly  educated  and  ordained  minister  had  gone 
out  as  a  missionary.  The  Church  Missionary  Society 
was  sixteen  years  old  before  it  secured  the  service 
of  two  such  men.  For  a  time  the  hope  of  a  supply  of 
men  properl}'  qualified  was  given  up  in  despair:  it 
was  thought  that  the  Societies  must  content  them- 
selves with  artisans  who  could  act  as  catechists  and 
colporteurs.  Carey  was  a  cobbler,  Marshman  was  a 
teacher  in  a  charity  school,  Ward  was  a  printer, 
Moffat  was  a  gardener,  Morrison  was  a  last-maker, 
Marsden  and  Williams  were  blacksmiths.  This  cause 
was  in  such  disrepute  that  it  was  glad  to  accept  the 


44  MISSIONARY   ADDRESSES. 

services  of  any  man  of  consecration  and  good  sense 
who  was  willing  to  labor  under  its  auspices. 

Now  all  that  is  changed.  The  whole  church  is 
pervaded  with  the  missionary  spirit.  The  first 
thought  that  comes  to  a  convert  is,  that  he  must 
bring  some  one  else  to  share  with  him  in  the  bless- 
ings of  redemption.  The  men  who  edit  the  religious 
papers  and  the  men  who  fill  the  pulpits  are  in  favor 
of  the  widest  possible  diffusion  of  the  gospel.  It 
would  be  as  easy  to  find  one  holding  to  the  Ptole- 
maic theory  of  astronomy  as  to  find  one  opposing 
missions.  A  bishop  in  our  time  who  is  not  enthusi- 
astically in  favor  of  world-wide  evangelism  is  a  rare 
bird.  The  voice  of  the  present  Archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury is  heard  in  eloquent  advocacy  of  the  great 
cause  of  missions.  It  has  been  well  said  that  the 
missionary  spirit  is  the  test  of  a  standing  or  of  a 
falling  church.  Wherever  you  find  a  living  church, 
you  will  find  the  missionary  spirit;  and  wherever 
you  find  the  missionary  spirit,  you  will  be  sure  to 
find  a  living  church  behind  it.  Christian  people 
are  coming  to  feel  more  and  more  that  the  chief 
end  for  which  they  ought  to  live  is  the  conversion 
of  the  world  to  Christ. 

It  is  no  uncommon  thing  now  for  men  bf  the 
greatest  ability  and  the  ripest  scholarship  to  offer 
to  go  wherever  the  interests  of  the  work  of  Christ 
m::y  require  their  presence  and  service.  In  five 
recent  years  the  Church  Missionary  Society  has  sent 
out  105  graduates,  and  has  now  over  170  graduates 
in  the  field.  The  cause  of  missions  can  point  to 
such  eminent  men  as  Martyn,  Heber,  Judson,  Duff, 
Wilson,  Selwyn,  Cotton,  Patteson,  Williams,  Nevius, 
Livingstone,  and  a  host  of  others  almost  equally  gift- 
ed and  accomplished.  In  nearly  every  great  school  in 
Christendom  there  are  Missionary  Volunteers.    In  the 


ENCOURAGEMENT   IN  MISSIONS.  45 

leading  seminaries  missionary  lectureships  have  been 
endowed.  The  teachers  are  doing  what  they  can  to 
make  the  students  feel  that  this  is  the  noblest  of  all 
callings.  The  work  of  missions  is  no  longer  regarded 
as  the  special  work  of  lunatics  and  enthusiasts.  It 
engages  the  attention  of  saints  and  sages  and  states- 
men and  philanthropists.  The  King  of  Belgium  feels 
honored  in  being  permitted  to  aid  a  cause  so  worthy. 
He  contributes  $400,000  annually  from  his  private 
purse  for  the  redemption  of  Africa.  His  only  son 
and  heir  died;  he  adopted  the  Dark  Continent  as  his 
heir,  and  lavishes  his  thought  and  bounty  upon  it. 
The  motto  of  the  church  now  is  the  old  watchword 
of  the  early  Christian  centuries:  "Christ  for  the 
whole  world,  and  the  whole  world  for  Christ."  Not 
until  every  knee  bows  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  and 
every  tongue  confesses  that  he  is  Lord  to  the  glory 
of  God  the  Father,  can  those  who  live  in  the  Spirit 
and  walk  in  the  Spirit  be  satisfied.  Not  until  the 
last  standard  of  rebellion  is  humbled  in  the  dust,  and 
the  banner  purpled  with  the  blood  of  redemption 
waves  in  triumph  over  a  blest  and  conquered  world, 
will  this  work  cease. 

II.  Let  us  note  that  the  vjhole  world  is  noio  open 
to  the  gospel.  This  was  not  the  case  a  century  ago. 
Then  the  largest  fields  were  closed  against  Christian- 
ity. It  was  for  this  reason  that  the  earliest  mission- 
aries went  to  Greenland,  to  Labrador,  to  the  West 
Indies,  to  Madagascar,  and  to  the  Islands  of  the 
Pacific.  They  could  not  go  elsewhere.  English 
statesmen  felt  that  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  in 
India  would  imperil  the  integrity  of  the  Empire.  A 
high  ofiicial  said  to  one  who  sought  to  enter  India  as 
a  missionary,  "  The  man  who  would  go  to  India  on 
that  errand  is  as  mad  as  the  man  who  would  put  a 
torch  to  a  powder  magazine."     Robert  Haldane  sold 


46  MISSIONARY   ADDRESSES. 

his  estate  and  collected  a  group  of  missionaries  to 
work  in  India.  He  proposed  to  endow  the  mission 
with  $150,000.  But  when  he  sought  permission 
from  the  authorities  it  was  denied  him.  The  East 
India  Company,  in  a  memorial  to  Parliament,  said: 
"The  sending  of  missionaries  into  our  Eastern 
possessions  is  the  maddest,  most  extravagant,  most 
expensive,  most  unwarrantable  project  that  was  ever 
proposed  by  a  lunatic  enthusiast.  Such  a  plan  is 
pernicious,  impolitic,  unprofitable,  unsalutary,  dan- 
gerous, unfruitful,  fantastic.  It  is  opposed  to  all 
reason  and  sound  policy;  it  endangers  the  peace  and 
security  of  our  possessions."  ]\Iacaulay  said  that 
there  were  some  Englishmen  who  held  high  office 
in  India  who  seem  to  have  thought  that  the  only 
religion  not  entitled  to  toleration  was  the  Christian 
religion.  They  regarded  every  Christian  missionary'' 
with  extreme  jealousy  and  disdain,  and  they  suffered 
the  most  atrocious  crimes,  if  enjoined  by  the  Hiudu 
superstition,  to  be  perpetrated  in  open  day.  It  is 
lamentable  to  think  how  long,  after  our  power  was 
firmly  established  in  Bengal,  we  suffered  the  practice 
of  infanticide  and  suttee  to  continue  unchecked. 
We  decorated  the  temples  of  the  false  gods.  We 
furnished  the  dancing  girls.  We  gilded  and  painted 
the  images  to  which  our  ignorant  subjects  bowed 
down.  We  repaired  and  embellished  the  car  under 
which  crazy  devotees  flung  themselves  at  every 
festival  to  be  crushed  to  death.  We  sent  guards  of 
honor  lo  escort  pilgrims  to  places  of  worship.  We 
actually  made  oblations  at  the  shrines  of  idols." 
Macaulay  was  no  saint  and  no  fanatic.  He  spent  ten 
years  in  India  in  the  service  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment.    He  was  a  competent  and  impartial  witness. 

Fifty  years  ago  Ray  Palmer  said,  "I  fancy  I  am 
coming  back  to  the  earth  five  hundred    years    from 


ENCOURAGEMENT  IN   MISSIONS.  47 

now;  then  I  shall  see  Japan  open  to  the  gospel." 
The  government  had  resolved  to  exclude  Christianity 
from  that  land  forever.  Those  who  worked  in  the 
factories  were  compelled  to  take  an  oath  every  year 
that  they  were  not  Christians,  and  to  trample  the 
cross  under  foot.  So  great  was  the  hostility  to  the 
gospel  that  it  was  thought  that  it  would  take  five  hun- 
dred years  to  overcome  it.  China  was  hermetically 
sealed  against  Christianity  for  ages.  She  dreaded  it 
far  more  than  she  did  cholera,  and  took  far  greater 
pains  to  protect  herself  against  it.  In  Turkey  it  was  a 
capital  crime  for  any  one  to  become  a  Christian ;  he 
must  live  and  die  in  tiie  faith  into  which  he  had  been 
born.  Africa  was  "  a  land  of  thick  darkness,  as  dark- 
ness itself;  a  land  of  the  shadow  of  death,  without 
any  order,  and  where  the  light  was  as  darkness." 
Here  and  there  a  lamp  had  been  lighted  along  the 
coast,  which  by  God's  grace  shall  never  go  out,  but  in 
the  interior  the  words  of  the  Prophet  were  true, 
"  Darkness  covered  the  land,  and  gross  darkness  the 
peoples." 

Now,  with  the  single  exception  of  Thibet,  the  whole 
world  is  open.  The  entire  population  of  India  is 
accessible.  Missionaries  can  travel  from  Cape  Com- 
orin  to  the  snow-clad  Himalayas,  and  wherever  they 
go  they  are  protected  in  person  and  property  by  the 
British  flag.  The  truth  is,  they  need  no  protection. 
Their  aims  and  motives  are  understood  and  respected. 
Within  thirty  years  the  government  has  built  17,000 
miles  of  railroad.  Eighty-five  colleges  of  Law,  Medi- 
cine and  Arts  are  educating  9,000  students,  and  6(J,500 
educational  institutions  of  all  sorts  are  contributing 
their  forces  to  the  intellectual  activity  of  the  age.  The 
presses  are  annually  sending  out  millions  of  pages  of 
Christian  literature.  The  best  and  ablest  rulers  of 
India  have  spoken  words  of  high  praise  of  the  mission- 


48  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

aries.  Sir  Eivers  Thompson  said,  "  It  is  a  pitiful 
thing  to  sneer  at  the  missionary.  It  is  worse  than  piti- 
ful. It  is  monstrous  to  ignore  the  sublime  results  of 
his  labors."  Lord  Napier  said,  "It  is  not  easy  to 
overrate  the  value  in  this  vast  empire  of  a  class  of 
Englishmen  of  pious  lives  and  disinterested  labors 
waliving  between  the  government  and  the  people,  with 
devotion  to  both,  the  friends  of  right,  the  adversaries 
of  wrong,  impartial  spectators  of  good  and  evil." 
Japan  is  now  open  to  the  gospel;  the  prohibitory  edicts 
are  no  longer  in  force.  In  the  last  thirty  years 
40,000,000  people  have  undergone  one  of  the  greatest 
possible  of  revolutions  in  matters  of  government, 
commerce,  education  and  religion.  Very  recently  the 
treaties  which  have  been  in  existence  for  some  years 
have  been  revised.  The  new  treaties  grant  much 
greater  freedom  of  movement  and  action  to  the  mis- 
sionaries. Ray  Palmer  has  been  dead  only  a  few 
years.  For  a  score  of  years  he  had  the  joy  of  know- 
ing that  Japan  was  open  to  the  gospel,  and  that  in 
two  hundred  churches  his  own  sweet  hymn  was  sung 
by  native  voices, 

'  'My  faith  looks  up  to  thee, 
Thou  Lamb  of  Calvary, 

Savior  Divine : 
Now  liear  ine  while  I  pray , 
Take  all  my  guilt  away ; 
O  let  me  from  this  day 

Be  wholly  thine . ' ' 

In  like  manner  China  is  open,  and  Christian  workers 
are  free  to  go  where  they  please  and  preach  the  un- 
searchable riches  of  Christ.  Their  rights  are  secured 
by  national  treaties.  A  missionary  is  as  safe  in  China 
as  a  Chinaman  is  in  America.  Africa  has  been  trav- 
ersed from  the  Cape  on  the  south  to  the  Pillars  of 
Hercules,  and  from  Zanzibar  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Congo.     The   Congo  Free   State  contains  50,000,000 


ENCOURAGEMENT  IN  MISSIONS.  49 

souls.  The  Berlin  Conference  guaranteed  the  largest 
liberty  to  those  who  work  in  the  Congo  Basin.  Stan- 
ley was  a  thousand  days  crossing  Africa.  In  all  that 
time  he  did  not  see  the  face  of  a  Christian  native. 
Since  that  time  a  number  of  stations  have  been  estab- 
lished. As  that  continent  has  been  parcelled  out 
among  the  nations  of  Europe,  its  evangelization  is 
only  a  question  of  a  few  years.  Before  many  years 
shall  have  elapsed  it  can  be  said  of  Africa,  "  The  peo- 
ple which  sat  in  darkness  saw  a  great  light,  and  to 
them  which  sat  in  the  region  and  shadow  of  death,  to 
them  did  light  spring  up."  Sixty  years  ago  Siam 
was  sealed  against  the  entrance  of  foreigners,  travel- 
ers and  Christians.  To-day  Siam  is  in  treaty  relations 
with  all  the  great  powers  of  the  world.  Her  people 
are  accessible  to  the  missionary,  whose  right  to  build 
schools  and  churches  anywhere  is  protected  by  solemn 
treaties.  Turkey  has  granted  a  measure  of  toleration 
to  her  subjects.  No  man  is  put  to  death  by  process  of 
law  because  he  becomes  a  Christian.  Corea,  the  last 
of  the  Hermit  Nations,  has  opened  her  gates  to  the 
truth.  The  words  of  the  Lord  have  been  verified,  "  I 
will  go  before  thee;  I  will  break  in  pieces  the  gates  of 
brass."  He  has  set  before  his  people  an  open  door, 
and  no  man  can  shut  it.  A  nation  might  as  well  try 
to  shut  out  the  sunshine,  and  the  dewdrops,  and  the 
sweet  influences  of  spring  and  summer,  as  to  attempt 
to  shut  out  the  gospel  of  the  glory  of  the  blessed  God. 
III.  Let  us  note  that  missions  have  a  great  com- 
Tnercial  value.  Writers  on  political  economy  esti- 
mate that  for  every  man  that  goes  out  as  a  missionary 
to  savage  people,  a  trade  worth  $50,000  a  year  is 
created  with  the  home  country.  Savage  peoples  may 
have  raw  materials  in  great  abundance,  but  they  do 
not  know  how  to  utilize  them.  Eighty  years  ago  the 
4 


50  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

Sandwich  Islands  had  no  commerce;  now  their  im- 
ports and  exports  amount  to  nearly  $15,000,000  a  year. 
The  profit  on  the  commerce  for  one  year  would  pay  for 
all  that  it  has  cost  to  evangelize  these  islands.  Before 
missionaries  went  to  the  South  Seas  there  could  be  no 
commerce  on  account  of  the  savage  character  of  the 
natives.  Now  commerce  with  these  islands  amounts  to 
more  than  $20,000,000.  Mr.  Liggins  states  that  the 
trade  in  soap  alone  is  a  fair  index  of  the  progress  of 
the  work.  Before  the  work  began  the  natives  did  not 
know  that  there  was  such  a  thing  in  the  universe. 
As  they  wore  no  clothing  they  did  not  need  soap. 
Lagos  was  once  a  stronghold  of  the  slave  trade  in 
South  Africa.  Lagos  is  now  the  Liverpool  of  South 
Africa,  and  the  landmark  which  guides  ships  into 
port  is  the  spire  of  a  Christian  church.  Professor 
Drummond  speaks  of  the  savage  as  an  animal  without 
wants.  "One  stick,  pointed,  makes  him  a  spear;  two 
sticks  rubbed  together  make  him  a  fire;  fifty  sticks 
tied  together  make  him  a  house.  The  bark  he  peels 
from  them  makes  his  clothes;  the  fruits  which  hang 
on  them  form  his  food."  He  saw  a  native  buried. 
All  his  possessions  were  put  into  the  grave  with  him 
— a  pipe,  a  rough  knife,  a  mud-bowl,  his  bow  and 
arrows.  Part  of  the  year  the  African  lives  on  wild 
fruits  and  herbs.  The  rest  of  the  year  his  diet  con- 
sists of  porridge  made  from  ground  millet-seed.  He 
paid  his  respects  to  one  chief  whose  court-dress  con- 
sisted almost  exclusively  of  a  pair  of  suspenders. 
Such  jDeople  create  nothing,  and  consume  nothing, 
and  are  worth  nothing  in  the  markets  of  the  world. 
As  soon  as  their  hearts  are  renewed  by  the  gospel, 
they  feel  that  they  must  have  homes,  and  clothing; 
they  must  have  books,  and  clocks,  and  cabinet  organs, 
and  sewing  machines;  they  must  have  plows,  and 
reapers,   and    flouring  mills;    they  must   have  all  the 


ENCOURAGEMENT  IN  MISSIONS.  51 

comforts  and  conveniences  of  Christian  civilization. 
Livingstone  met  one  old  chief  Avho  told  him  that  he 
had  washed  only  once  in  his  life,  and  that  was  so  long 
ago,  he  forgot  what  the  sensation  was  like.  Living  in 
the  dirt,  wearing  no  clothing,  these  people  purchase 
nothing.  The  first  sign  of  a  changed  life  is  that  a 
man  or  woman  begins  to  sew.  It  may  be  only  a  few 
fig-leaves  to  hide  their  nakedness;  no  matter;  it  glad- 
dens the  heart  of  the  worker.  When  a  Kaifir  is  won 
to  Christ  his  first  thought  is  that  he  must  have  some 
clothes.  Then  he  must  not  sit  in  the  dirt;  he  must 
have  a  chair  to  sit  on,  a  table  to  eat  from,  a  spoon, 
and  a  knife,  and  a  fork.  Thus  one  thing  leads  to  an- 
other till  he  has  a  comfortable  home  with  all  modern 
conveniences.  Moffat  found  the  Bechuanas  as  wild  as 
panthers.  They  laughed  at  him  when  they  saw  him 
using  candles.  They  thought  he  could  make  better 
use  of  his  fat  meat  by  eating  it.  The  first  sign  of 
hope  that  met  his  waiting  eyes,  was  that  these  people 
began  to  make  tallow-dips  and  light  up  their  own 
homes  after  sunset.  This  was  an  infallible  proof  to 
him  that  they  had  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  Light  that 
lighteth  every  man  that  comes  into  the  world.  An 
American  firm  sent  five  hundred  plows  to  Natal  in 
one  consignment;  the  profit  on  those  plows  would 
pay  the  cost  of  the  mission  for  the  year.  When  an 
old  chief  saw  a  plow  for  the  first  time,  he  cried  out 
in  admiration,  "See!  See  how  the  thing  tears  up  the 
ground  with  its  iron  mouth;  it  is  of  more  value  than 
five  wives!"  John  Williams  states  that  the  mission- 
aries in  Tahiti  built  and  furnished  a  house  in  Euro- 
pean style.  The  natives  saw  this,  but  did  not  attempt 
to  imitate  their  example.  As  soon,  however,  as  they 
were  brought  under  the  influence  of  the  gospel,  the 
chiefs  and  people  built  neat  plastered  cottages,  and 
manufactured  bedsteads,  scats,  and  other  articles  of 


53  MISSIONARY    ADDRESSES. 

furniture.  The  women  had  seen  the  dress  of  the  mis- 
sionaries' wives,  but  while  they  were  heathen  they 
preferred  their  own,  and  there  was  not  a  single  at- 
tempt at  imitation.  When  they  were  brought  under 
the  influence  of  religion  they  wanted  gowns,  bonnets 
and  shawls.  He  was  convinced  that  the  missionary 
enterprise  is  incomparably  the  most  effective  machin- 
ery that  has  ever  been  used  to  further  the  commer- 
cial as  well  as  the  spiritual  interests  of  mankind. 
Stanley  estimates  that  the  commerce  of  the  Congo 
Valley,  when  that  valley  is  opened  up,  will  be  worth 
$300,000,000  a  year  in  the  markets  of  the  world. 
The  commerce  of  India  is  now  worth  $1,000,000,- 
000.  England  spends  more  money  in  missions  than 
all  the  rest  of  the  world;  but  English  commerce 
has  gained  ten  pounds  for  every  pound  England 
has  given  for  missions.  A  carriage-maker,  when  the 
plate  came  to  him,  threw  in  a  dollar.  He  thought  he 
might  as  well  have  thrown  his  money  into  the  fire. 
Not  long  after,  he  got  an  order  from  the  field  where 
his  dollar  was  expended,  for  fifty  carriages  at  ninety 
dollars  each.  He  understood  then  that  the  money 
that  goes  out  in  missions  comes  back  in  commerce. 
If  Christian  nations  had  obeyed  their  Lord's  last  com- 
mand, there  would  be  no  cry  of  over-production. 
With  untold  millions  to  take  their  surplus  products, 
there  would  be  no  cry  of  hard  times.  General  Sickles 
says  that  the  United  States  could  afford  to  pay  a  sal- 
ary to  the  missionaries  for  the  secular  advantages  se- 
cured to  us  by  them.  The  money  given  to  evangelize 
the  world  is  not  wasted,  as  was  once  generally  be- 
lieved. The  opposition  that  came  from  that  source 
has  ceased. 

IV.  Let  us  note  that  the  /Scriptures  have  been 
translated,  in  whole  or  in  part,  into  the  languages  of 
three-fourths  of  the   inhabitants   of   the  globe.      The 


ENCOURAGEMENT  IN  MISSIONS.  53 

bulk  of  the  race  can  now  read  in  their  own  tongues 
the  wonderful  works  of  God.  It  is  a  great  event  in 
the  history  of  any  nation  when  the  Scriptures  are 
translated  into  its  language.  The  book  can  go  where 
the  living  man  cannot.  Our  missionaries  in  China 
found  forty  believers  in  a  part  of  the  empire  where 
no  missionary  had  ever  been.  In  some  way  they  had 
gotten  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament ;  they  met  and 
read  it,  and  walked  in  its  light.  That  was  no  uncom- 
mon'occurrence.  Sir  Bartle  Frere  states  that  all  the 
inhabitants  of  a  reinote  village  in  the  Deccan  had  ad- 
jured idolatry  and  caste,  removed  from  their  temples 
the  idols  which  had  been  worshiped  there  time  out 
of  mind,  and  agreed  to  profess  a  form  of  Christian- 
ity which  they  had  deduced  for  themselves  from  a 
careful  reading  of  a  single  Gospel  and  a  few  tracts. 
When  missionaries  went  to  Madagascar  they  found  a 
nation  without  books,  and  without  an  alphabet.  The 
New  Testament  was  translated,  and  five  thousand 
copies  were  printed.  In  1830  there  was  not  a  single 
avowed  believer,  though  hundreds  of  pupils  had  been 
under  Christian  instruction.  When  the  persecution 
broke  out  the  missionaries  withdrew  from  the  coun- 
try. They  left  behind  them  the  printed  Bible  and  one 
thousand  adherents  to  Christianity,  two  hundred  of 
whom  were  communicants.  Death  was  threatened  to 
any  one  who  should  read  the  Bible  or  become  a  Chris- 
tian. The  persecution  lasted  for  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury. In  that  time  ten  thousand  suffered  penalties  of 
different  kinds.  The  Scriptures  were  concealed  and 
read  only  by  stealth.  When  printed  copies  failed, 
man}'  undertook  to  supply  the  lack  with  the  pen. 
When  the  persecution  ceased  it  Avas  found  that  the 
adherents  to  Christianity  had  increased  from  one 
thousand  to  seven  thousand,  and' the  actual  communi- 
cants from  two  hundred  to  one  thousand.     The  Bible 


54  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

contains  the  imperishable  seed  of  the  kingdom.  It  is 
not  dependent  upon  the  presence  and  the  advocacy  of 
the  missionary.  The  story  is  told  that  when  one  of 
the  emperors  of  Rome  was  considering  how  best  to 
crush  Christianity  out  of  the  empire,  one  of  his  ad- 
visers, who  was  an  apostate  Christian,  said:  "It  is  of 
no  use  to  burn  the  Christians,  for  if  you  burn  every 
Christian  alive  to-day,  and  leave  a  single  copy  of  the 
Scriptures  remaining,  the  Christian  Church  will  spring 
up  again  to-morrow."  Diocletian  understood  the 
power  of  the  Word  of  God,  foi*  he  gave  orders  that 
every  copy  of  it  that  could  be  found  was  to  be  burned. 
The  good  work  can  go  on  if  the  Bible  is  in  the  hands 
of  the  people;  it  can  not  go  on  else.  Dr.  Gilman 
tells  us  that  Portugal  upheld  the  Romish  church  in 
Congo  for  two  centuries.  The  Catholic  faith  flour- 
ished there.  One  hundred  churches  were  built;  at 
one  time  all  the  adults  had  been  baptized.  One  mis- 
sionary baptized  thirteen  thousand,  another  fifty 
thousand  in  five  years,  another  one  hundred  thousand 
in  twenty  years;  masses,  penances,  rosaries,  crucifixes, 
medals,  confessionals  abounded;  but  there  were  no 
schools,  no  translations  of  Scripture,  no  pains  taken 
to  make  the  people  acquainted  with  the  Bible.  And 
when  the  Portuguese  power  was  withdrawn  from  the 
land  the  priests  also  withdrew,  and  as  a  result  of  their 
departure,  it  is  said,  every  vestige  and  fragment  of 
their  religion  died  out.  Had  the  Bible  been  given 
to  those  people,  the  event  would  have  been  different. 
The  g;ood  seed  would  have  propagated  itself.  Not 
only  can  the  Bible  win  the  soul  in  the  absence  of  any 
evangelist,  but  it  can  feed  and  nourish  the  soul.  Rob- 
ert Moffat  found  a  Christian  woman  living  in  a  pagan 
village.  He  asked  her  how  it  was  that  she  could  keep 
the  flame  alive  without  a  Christian  near  her.  She 
took   from    her   dress    a   New   Testament    and    said: 


ENCOURAGEMENT  IN   MISSIONS.  55 

*'This  is  the  fountain  where  I  drink;  this  is  the  oil 
which  makes  my  lamp  burn."  The  Scriptures  have 
been  translated  into  many  languages  that  a  century 
ago  had  no  written  form.  Every  translation  is  a  fact 
of  capital  importance.  "For  as  the  rain  and  the 
snow  come  down  from  heaven,  and  return  not  thith- 
er, but  water  the  earth,  that  it  may  bring  forth  and 
bud,  that  it  may  give  bread  to  the  eater  and  seed  to 
the  sower;  so  shall  my  word  be  that  goeth  out  of  my 
mouth:  it  shall  not  return  unto  me  void,  but  it  shall 
accomplish  that  which  I  please,  and  prosper  in  the 
thing  whereto  I  sent  it." 

V.  Let  us  note  that  success  is  now  assured.  The 
gospel  has  made  good  its  claims  to  be  the  power  of 
God  to  elevate  and  ennoble  every  soul  that  believes. 
At  one  time  wise  and  good  men  ridiculed  the  idea  of 
sending  the  gospel  to  people  who  had  no  culture  and 
no  commerce.  It  seemed  to  them  as  unprofitable  as 
casting  pearls  before  swine.  When  missionaries  were 
arranging  to  go  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  some  people 
felt  that  they  might  as  well  preach  to  the  buffaloes  on 
the  Western  prairies.  It  was  taken  for  granted  by 
most  Christians  that  it  was  worse  than  useless  to  send 
the  gospel  to  savage  tribes.  No  intelligent  Christian 
thinks  so  now.  Christianity  can  point  to  its  trophies 
won  among  the  Cannibals  of  the  South  Seas,  the 
Eskimos  of  the  frozen  North,  the  Negroes  and  Zulus 
of  Africa.  Among  no  people  has  it  failed.  There  is 
in  every  man,  however  degraded,  the  capacity  for  the 
highest  good,  for  the  salvation  in  Christ.  Every  soul 
can  receive  the  truth.  Robert  Moffat  was  once  asked 
to  conduct  family  worship  in  a  house  where  he  was  a 
guest.  When  the  family  gathered  he  said  to  the  host, 
*'  But  where  are  the  servants?  "  "  Servants,"  said  the 
host,  "  what  do  you  mean?"  "  I  mean  the  Hottentots 
of  whom  I  saw  so  many  on  your  farm."    "  Hottentots ! 


56  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES, 

Do  you  mean  that,  then!     Let  me  go  and  call  the 
baboons,  if  you  want  a  congregation  of  that  sort.    Or, 
stop,  I  have  it.    My  sons,  call  the  dogs  that  lie  in  front 
of  the  door;  they  will  do."    Moffat  said  no  more.    He 
read  and  expounded  the  words,  "Truth,  Lord,  yet  the 
dogs  eat  the  crumbs  that  fall  from  the  children's  table.'' 
He  had  not  spoken  many  words  when  his  host  said, 
"Will  you  sit  down  and  wait  a  little?    You  shall  have 
the  Hottentots."     That  night  when  the  family  retired 
the  host  said  to  his  guest,  "  My  friend,  you  took  a  hard 
hammer,  but  you  broke  a  hard  head  with  it."     When 
the  present  missionary  era  began  nearly  all  Christians 
felt  as  that  farmer  did.     Here  and  there  you  may  fiuvl 
an  ignorant  Christian  or  a  belated  skeptic  who  talks 
of  the  folly  of  trying  to  clothe  asses  with  immortality, 
but  the  time  for  such  sneers  is  past.     Luke  tells  us  in 
the  book  of  Acts  that  when  the  people  saw  the  man 
who  was  healed  standing  with  them,  they  could  say 
nothing  against  it.     The  case  did  not  admit  of  argu- 
ment.    So  now  when  a  critic  looks  at  Madagascar  or 
Fiji  or  Greenland  or  Sierra  Leone  or  Ticrra  del  Fuego, 
there  is  nothing  to  be  said.     He  sees  that  peoples  that 
once  walked  in  darkness  are  now  walking  in  the  light. 
He  sees  that  men  who  once  were  thieves,  covetous, 
drunkards,  revilers,  extortioners,  idolaters,  have  been 
washed,  they  have  been  sanctified,  they  have  been  jus- 
tified in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  the 
Spirit  of  our  God.     In  the  face  of  such  a  demonstra- 
tion there  is  nothing  to  be  said  in  opposition.     Chris- 
tian people  are  coming  to  understand  that  "  the  great 
idea  of  converting  the  world  to  Christ  is  no  chimera — 
it  is  divine — Christianity  will  triumph.     It  is  equal  to 
all  it  has  to  perform." 

The  cause  of  missions  is  no  longer  an  experiment. 
The  final  issue  is  no  longer  in  doubt.  At  first  success 
was   small.      Carey  and  Morrison   and  Judson   each 


ENCOURAGEMENT  IN  MISSIONS.  57 

labored  seven  years  for  one  convert.  Moffat  was 
eleven  years  in  Africa  before  he  saw  any  fruit.  The 
London  Missionary  Society  was  at  work  in  one  field 
for  twenty  years  before  it  had  any  conversions.  In 
Japan  missionaries  labored  seven  years  for  one  con- 
vert; six  years  later  they  had  ten.  In  China  Presl)}- 
terian  missionaries  hibored  ten  years  for  the  first  con^ 
vert;  in  the  next  years  they  had  only  one  convert  a 
year.  The  missionaries  were  not  surprised  nor  dis- 
couraged. They  had  to  learn  the  language  of  the 
people.  They  had  to  discover  the  best  way  to  approach 
them.  They  had  to  win  their  confidence.  This  was 
no  small  nor  easy  task.  The  natives  had  seen  other 
representatives  from  Christendom.  They  had  been 
enslaved  and  despoiled  by  ruthless  traders.  In  Africa 
millions  had  been  captured  and  sold  into  bondage. 
In  South  India  the  Portuguese  had  sacked  cities  and 
devastated  kingdoms.  Wherever  white  men  had  set 
foot  they  had  wronged  and  outraged  the  people.  The 
missionaries  were  supposed  to  be  in  league  with  trad- 
ers and  slave-stealers  and  pirates.  It  took  time  to  dis- 
lodge their  prejudices  and  to  convince  them  that  they 
came  among  them  constrained  b}^  the  love  of  Christ 
and  seeking  not  theirs,  but  them.  Li  Hung  Chang  is 
one  of  the  ablest  men  of  the  age.  Grant  ranked  him 
with  Bismarck  and  Beaconsfield.  Li  Hung  Chang  can 
not  believe  that  men  go  to  China  from  purely  benevo- 
lent motives.  The  missionaries  knew  that  success 
would  not  be  instantaneous;  they  knew,  too,  that  in 
due  season  they  would  reap  if  they  did  not  faint. 
Morrison  said,  "  I  wait  patiently  for  events  to  develop 
in  the  course  of  Divine  providence;  the  Lord  reign- 
eth."  Mary  Moffat  said,  "  I  ain  as  certain  of  the  con- 
version of  Africa  as  I  am  that  the  sun  will  rise  to-mor- 
row morning."  Before  there  were  any  signs  of  fruit 
she  sent   home  for  a  communion   set.     It  was  three 


58  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

years  before  it  arrived,  ])ut  it  came  in  time  for  the  first 
celebration  of  tlie  Lord's  death  with  native  converts. 
Dr.  Anderson  said  to  the  first  men  who  went  to  China 
under  the  American  Board,  "Tlie  men  who  built  Bun- 
ker Hill  Monument  worked  underground  for  ten  years ; 
can  you  do  the  same?  "  They  did  so,  but  in  the  last 
few  3^ears  the  results  have  been  marvelous.  In  thirty- 
five  years  the  converts  multiplied  two  thousand  fold. 
In  India  the  missionar^y  part  of  the  population  doubles 
in  ten  years.  At  the  present  rate  of  progress,  in  an- 
other century  there  will  be  over  100,000,000  Christians 
in  India.  When  Mr.  Grout  was  starting  to  Natal  he 
was  told  that  he  was  going  on  a  wild  goose  chase.  For 
ten  years  he  toiled  on,  seeing  no  results;  since  that 
time  great  luultitudes  have  become  obedient  to  the 
faith.  He  was  able  to  say  to  his  critics,  "I  caught 
the  goose."  At  one  time  the  propriety  of  discontinu- 
ing the  Lone  Star  Mission  among  the  Telugus  was  dis- 
cussed. It  was  thought  that  the  meager  results  did 
not  justify  the  expenditure.  There  were  some  who 
thought  that  the  wiser  policy  was  to  reinforce  the 
workers  there.  While  the  question  was  pending  a 
gifted  man  wrote  these  lines: 

' '  Shine  on ,  Lone  Star ,  tlie  day  draws  near 
When  none  will  shine  more  fair  than  thou, 
Thou  born  and  nursed  in  doubt  and  fear 
Wilt  glitter  on  Immanuel '  s  brow ! 

Shine  on,  Lone  Star,  till  earth  redeemed 

In  dust  shall  bid  its  idols  fall ; 
And  thousands  whom  thy  radiance  beamed 

Shall  crown  the  Savior  Lord  of  all. ' ' 

In  three  months  of  one  yeav  there  were  10,500  bap- 
tisms in  this  mission.  There  were  2,222  in  one  day. 
The  Lone  Star  Mission  is  one  of  the  greatest  triumphs 
of  the  gospel  in  modern  times. 

Sydney  Smith  opposed  missions  on  the  ground  that 
there  was  not  the  slightest  prospect  of  success.     He 


ENCOURAGEMENT  IN  MISSIONS.  59 

doubted  if  ever  the  conversion  of  a  Hindu  would  be 
more  than  nominal.  Others  have  taken  up  this 
thought  and  repeated  it  as  if  it  was  as  true  as  Holy 
Writ.  Some  years  ago  a  Cincinnati  brewer  made  a 
tour  of  the  world.  He  wrote  home  and  said  that  mis- 
sionaries were  doing  nothing  in  India.  He  spent  a  few 
days  in  seeing  the  historic  scenes  of  India.  Had  he 
been  looking  for  Christians  he  would  have  seen  six 
hundred  thousand  of  them.  Those  who  are  best 
qualified  to  speak  on  this  subject  say  that  Christianity 
is  a  really  living  faith  among  the  people  of  India,  and 
that  it  is  spreading  at  a  rate  unsuspected  l)y  the  gen- 
eral public.  The  triumphs  of  the  gospel  in  our  own 
day  have  no  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  church. 

There  is  a  growing  conviction  among  the  non-Chris- 
tian nations  that  the  Christian  religion  is  the  religion 
of  the  future.  One  missionary  in  India  states  that  it 
is  the  prevailing  feeling  among  intelligent  natives, 
that  Christianity  is  ere  long  to  become  the  prevailing 
religion  of  the  country.  Another  says,  "A  deep  and 
widespread  conviction  seems  to  prevail,  not  only  in 
cities,  but  also  in  the  country  places,  among  the  vil- 
lages, and,  indeed,  throughout  all  classes,  that  a  day 
of  overthrowing  of  the  old  religions  and  effete  faiths, 
of  the  breaking  up  of  old  forms,  is  at  hand."  The 
Lucknow  [Vifness  said,  "We  believe  we  speak  the 
simple  truth  when  we  say  that  millions  of  natives  are 
convinced  of  this.  We  have  found  it  an  accepted  be- 
lief in  the  most  remote  mountain  hamlets,  where  no 
European  had  ever  penetrated,  and  we  find  it  received 
as  an  inevitable  event  of  the  near  future  in  ever}'  city 
and  town  of  the  plains."  A  Hindu  woman  said  to  a 
Zenana  worker,  "Do  not  take  so  much  trouble;  our 
folks  will  soon  become  Christian,  even  if  left  to  them- 
selves." The  natives  see  that  the  gospel  is  connected 
with   all   the   greatest   developments   of   civilization. 


60  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

The  nations  that  possess  it  are  the  strong  and  progres- 
sive nations.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  there  is 
some  vital  connection  between  it  and  national  pros- 
perity. Wherever  it  goes  it  cau.>?es  the  wilderness  to 
blossom,  like  Eden,  and  like  the  garden  of  the  Lord. 

When  William  Carey  was  pleading  with  Andrew 
Fuller  for  immediate  action,  he  said,  "  If  the  Lord 
would  make  v/indows  in  heaven,  might  this  thing 
be?  "  He  had  as  little  faith  in  the  scheme  proposed 
as  the  nobleman  of  Samaria  had  in  the  i)romise  of 
Elisha.  Since  that  time  all  doubt  as  to  the  ultimate 
triumph  has  vanished.  The  sublime  prediction  is  in 
process  of  fulfillment.  "  The  glory  of  the  Lord  shall 
be  revealed,  and  all  flesh  shall  see  it  together,  for  the 
mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it." 

All  active  opposition  to  the  missionary  enterprise  is 
practically  at  an  end.  The  whole  world,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Thibet,  is  open  to  the  gospel.  In  every 
nation  there  are  those  who  are  waiting  anxiously  for 
it.  Thus  an  Indian  girl  said  to  her  mistress,  "  How 
long  have  you  known  these  things,  that  Jesus  loves  us, 
and  that  he  died  for  us?"  "We  have  known  it  a 
great  many  years;  in  fact,  we  have  always  known  it." 
"And  you  never  told  us!  My  mother  and  grand- 
mother died  without  knowing  Jesus.  Why  did  you 
not  come  before  and  tell  us  this  great  thing,  so  that 
they,  too,  could  have  known  the  way  of  life?"  An 
Indian  asked  John  Eliot  how  it  was  that  the  English 
had  been  in  the  country  a  considerable  time  and  had 
so  long  neglected  to  instruct  the  people  in  religious 
truth.  "Had  3'ou  done  it  sooner,  we  might  have 
known  much  of  God  by  this  time,  and  much  sin  might 
have  been  prevented,  and  now  some  of  us  are  grown 
old  in  sin."  An  aged  warrior  said,  "I  am  the  chief 
of  a  numerous  people,  and  I  wish  them  to  be  in- 
structed.    We  have  heard  that  our  brothers  who  are 


ENCOURAGEMENT  IN  MISSIONS.  61 

near  the  white  settlements  have  received  the  Great 
Word.  We  have  heard  that  the  Great  Spirit  has  told 
the  white  man  to  send  the  Great  Word  to  all  his  chil- 
dren; why  does  he  not  send  it  to  us?  I  have  been 
looking  many  moons  down  the  river  to  see  the  mis- 
sionary canoe,  but  it  has  not  come  yet."  In  the  South 
Sea  Islands  an  old  man  said,  "  This  one  thing  I  want 
to  ask:  Can  it  be  that  the  Christian  peo^Dle  in  England 
have  had  this  gospel  of  peace  for  many  long  years  and 
have  never  sent  it  to  us  till  now?  Oh,  that  they  had 
sent  it  sooner!  Had  they  sent  it  sooner  I  should  not 
to-day  be  solitary,  sad-hearted,  mourning  my  mur- 
dered wife  and  children.  Oh,  that  they  had  sent  it 
sooner!  "  A  gray-haired  man  in  Brazil  said  to  a  mis- 
sionary: "Young  man,  tell  me,  what  was  your  father 
doing  that  my  father  died  and  never  knew  that  there 
was  such  a  book  as  the  Bible?  You  say  that  in  3'our 
land  you  have  had  this  Book  for  generations.  Why 
did  they  not  have  mercy  on  us?  How  is  it  that  only 
now  we  are  hearing  of  this  Book?  My  father  was  a 
religious  man;  he  taught  us  all  he  knew;  but  he  never 
said  Bible  to  us,  and  died  without  the  knowledge  of 
it."  A  Buddhist  said,  "Is  it  possible  that  for  hun- 
dreds of  years  you  have  had  the  knowledge  of  these 
glad  tidings  in  your  possession,  and  yet  have  come 
only  now  to  preach  them  to  us?  My  father  sought 
after  the  truth  for  more  than  twenty  years,  and  died 
without  finding  it.  Why  did  you  not  come  sooner?" 
How  can  the  church  answer  these  questions  in  the 
Judgment  day? 

' '  Hark  the  cry  of  distant  nations ! 

List!  that  cry  coines  back  again. 
With  its  solemn,  sad  vibration, 

With  its  piteous  refrain : 
We  are  dying  fast  of  hunger. 

Starving  for  the  bread  of  life ; 
Haste,  Chasten  ere  we  perish, 

Send  the  messengers  of  life.  '* 


63  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

'  'Send  the  gospel  swifter,  faster, 

Ye  who  dwell  in  Christian  land ; 
Reck  you  not,  we're  dying,  dying, 

More  in  number  than  the  sand? 
Heed  you  not  his  words,  your  Master, 

'Go  ye  into  all  the  world?' 
Send  the  gospel  faster,  faster, 

Let  his  banner  be  unfurled. ' ' 

The  harvest  of  the  earth  is  overripe;  it  is  for  us  to 
cast  in  the  sickle  and  reap,  for  the  time  to  reap  has 
come.  And  yet  with  all  that  we  have  to  encourage 
us,  what  are  we  doing?  Almost  nothing.  What  we 
give  in  a  year  is  a  mere  bagatelle.  The  Christian  peo- 
ple of  the  United  States  have  in  their  hands  property 
worth  $13,000,000,000.  Their  wealth  is  rapidly  in- 
creasing. The  average  annual  increase  from  1830  to 
1890  was  over  $400,000,000.  What  they  give  in  a, 
year  for  world-wide  evangelism  is  not  more  than  one 
hundredth  part  of  the  annual  increase  in  their  pos- 
sessions. Dare  they  say  that  they  are  acting  as  good 
stewards  of  the  manifold  grace  of  God?  Nineteen 
centuries  have  come  and  gone  since  Christ  was  born, 
and  what  is  the  condition  of  the  human  family? 
There  are  116,000,000  Protestants;  190,000,000  Cath- 
olics; 84,000,000  Greeks;  170,000,000  Mohammedans; 
8,000,000  Jews;  and  856,000,000  Pagans.  Every  year 
thirty  millions  for  whom  Christ  died  go  down  to  the 
grave  unsaved.  A  whole  generation  goes  down  to  a 
hopeless  grave  every  thirty  years.  While  the  church 
has  been  saving  three  millions,  the  non-Christian  pop- 
ulations have  increased  two  hundred  millions.  What 
has  been  done  is  as  nothing  compared  with  what  re- 
mains to  be  done.  Thus  in  India,  out  of  a  popula- 
tion of  287,000,000,  about  600,000  have  been  won;  in 
China  out  of  a  population  of  400,000,000,  about 
50,000  have  been  won;  in  Japan,  out  of  a  population 
of  40,000,000,  about  45,000  have  been  won;  in  Africa, 
out  of  a  population  of  200,000,000,  about  100,000  have 


ENCOURAGEMENT  IN  MISSIONS.  63 

been  won.  Meanwhile  whole  nations  have  scarcely 
been  touched  with  the  gospel.  This  is  true  of  Annam, 
with  a  population  of  30,000,000;  of  Afghanistan  with 
a  popuhition  of  8,000,000;  of  Thibet,  Mongolia  and 
Arabia;  and  of  the  Soudan  with  a  population  of  100,- 
000,000.  Guinness  says  that  "from  the  last  station 
on  the  npper  Congo,  a  journey  of  1,000  miles  would 
be  needed  to  reach  the  nearest  station  on  the  east. 
Seventeen  hundred  miles  to  the  northeast  lies  the  Red 
Sea,  and  there  is  no  station  between.  Twenty-two 
hundred  miles  due  north  is  the  Mediterranean,  and 
no  station  between;  while  twenty-five  hundred  miles 
to  the  northwest  are  the  stations  of  the  north  African 
mission,  but  no  single  centre  of  light  between.  Seven 
hundred  miles  to  the  west  is  the  Cameroons  station, 
but  the  whole  intervening  country  is  unvisited,  and 
in  the  southwest  the  American  mission  at  Bike  is 
fully  a  thousand  miles  distant."  How  must  the  In- 
finite Father  feel  about  the  neglect  of  so  many  of  his 
children?  He  is  not  willing  that  any  soul  should  per- 
ish. He  decks  the  lily  fair;  he  notes  the  sparrow's 
fall;  and  he  can  not  regard  the  present  condition  of 
the  heathen  world  and  the  lethargy  of  his  people  with 
composure.  If  the  evangelization  of  the  world  was 
the  heart's  desire  of  Christians,  as  it  should  be,  every 
soul  alive  would  have  heard  the  gospel  before  this. 
Every  mail  brings  the  most  urgent  appeals  for  more 
men  and  more  means.  The  need  is  infinite;  the  sup- 
ply is  infinitesimal.  Opportunities  are  constantly 
presenting  themselves,  but  the  few  workers  can  not 
embrace  them.  In  the  Sepoy  mutiny  the  Europeans 
were  shut  up  in  Lucknow.  The  savage  besiegers  were 
gaining  ground  day  by  day;  provisions  and  amunition 
were  all  but  exhausted.  When  hope  was  giving  place 
to  despair  a  Scottish  maiden  sprang  up  and  cried, 
"Dinna  ye  hear  it?     Dinna  ye  hear  it?     The  pipes  of 


64  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

Havelock  sound!"  She  had  her  ear  to  the  ground 
and  she  heard  in  the  distance  the  tread  of  Havelock 's 
army  of  rescue. 

'  'Oh,  they  listened  diimb  and  breathless. 
And  they  caught  the  sound  at  last ; 
Faint  and  far  beyond  the  Goomtee 
Rose  and  fell  the  piper's  blast. 
Then  a  burst  of  wild  thanksgiving, 
Mingled  woman's  voice  and  man's  ; 
God  be  praised  the  march  of  Havelock 
And  the  piping  of  the  clans. ' ' 

In  the  far-off  mission  fields  of  India,  Japan,  China, 
and  Turkey,  our  workers  have  their  ears  to  the 
ground  listening  for  the  footfalls  of  reinforcements. 
Their  joy  and  their  gratitude  when  they  hear  them 
will  be  as  boundless  as  were  those  of  the  besieged  in 
Luckuow  when  they  heard  the  pipes  of  rescue. 

My  brethren,  have  we  done  and  are  we  doing  all  in 
our  power?  We  repeat  the  words,  "The  whole  world 
lieth  in  the  wicked  one,  and  we  know  that  the  Son  of 
God  is  come."  We  hold,  as  no  other  people,  that  the 
gospel  is  God's  power  to  save  every  one  that  believes; 
that  faith  comes  by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the  word 
of  Christ.  Being  an  apostolic  people,  we  are  neces- 
sarily and  unalterably  committed  to  the  support  of 
the  missionary  enterprise.  With  our  views  of  the 
gospel  and  with  our  plea,  we  ought  to  lead  all  others 
in  this  work.  From  the  very  nature  of  the  case  we 
ought  to  be  in  the  front  rank  of  those  who  are  seek- 
ing to  fill  the  world  with  the  gospel  of  the  glory  of 
the  Christ.  But  when  we  look  into  the  fact,  we  find 
that  this  is  not  the  case.  The  Moravians  and  others 
are  far  in  advance  of  us.  Their  zeal  ought  to  kindle 
an  unquenchable  enthusiasm  in  our  souls.  We  can 
and  we  must  do  far  more  than  we  have  ever  done. 
We  must  play  the  men  on  a  worthier  scale  than  in 
the  past.     We  must  plant  here  and  there  the  Rose  of 


ENCOURAGEMENT  IN  MISSIONS.  65 

Sharon,  and  make  our  portion  of  the  wilderness  blos- 
som like  the  garden  of  the  Lord. 

' '  'Tis  ours  to  make  earth's  desert  glad, 
In  its  Eden  greenness  clad  ; 
Ours  to  work  as  well  as  pray , 
Clearing  thorny  wrongs  away  ; 
Plucking  up  the  weeds  of  sin , 
Letting  heaven's  warm  sunlight  in; 
Standing  on  the  hills  of  faith , 
Listening  what  the  Spirit  saith  , 
Catching  gleams  of  temple  spires, 
Listening  to  the  angel  choirs  ; 
Like  the  seer  on  Patmos  gazing 
On  the  glory  downward  blazing ; 
Till  upon  earth's  grateful  sod, 
Rests  the  city  of  our  God. ' ' 
5 


IV. 

THE  SUCCESS  OF   MODERN  MISSIONS. 

The  people  which  sat  in  darkness  saw  a  great  light,  and  to  them  which  sat 
in  the  region  and  shadow  of  death,  to  them  did  light  spring  up.—3fat«.  iv.  16. 

A  LITTLE  over  one  hundred  years  ago,  William 
Carey  sailed  from  England  to  India.  That  event 
marks  an  epoch  in  human  history,  for  then  the  era  of 
modern  missions  began.  But  it  is  only  within  the  last 
fifty  years  that  any  considerable  efforts  have  been  put 
forth.  Even  now  we  are  only  playing  at  missions; 
we  have  hardly  begun  to  put  forth  our  strength.  In 
view  of  the  short  period  that  we  have  been  at  work, 
and  the  small  number  of  men  we  have  sent  out,  and 
the  feeble  support  we  have  given  them,  the  results  are 
surprisingly  large.  The  Lord  has  done  great  things 
for  us,  for  which  we  ought  to  be  glad  and  grateful. 
The  subject  of  the  hour  is  the  success  of  modern  mis- 
sions.    Let  us  look — 

I.  At  some  of  the  direct  residts.  Work  began  in  Brit- 
ish India  in  1813.  The  East  India  Company  did  all  it 
could  against  the  spread  of  the  gospel.  The  mission- 
aries were  regarded  as  maniacs,  who  ought  to  be 
placed  under  restraint.  Directors  thanked  God  that 
the  conversion  of  the  natives  was  impracticable.  As 
late  as  1853  nearly  four  million  dollars  were  paid  out 
of  the  public  funds  for  the  support  of  the  pagan 
worship.     There  are  now  not  less  than  half  a  million 

adherents  to  Christianity  in  India.      Sir  William  Muir 

(66) 


WORKERS   IX   INDIA. 

W.  E.  Rambo,  Damoh. 

G.  L.  WllAKTON,  Hurda.  J.  (i.  McGavran,  Damoh. 

M.  D.  Adams,  Bilaspur. 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MODERN   MISSIONS.  67 

said:  ''Thousands  have  been  brought  over,  and  in  an 
ever-increasing  ratio  converts  are  being  brought  to 
Christianity.  And  these  are  not  sham  nor  paper  con- 
verts, but  good  and  honest  Christians,  and  many  of 
them  of  a  high  standard."  Sir  Herbert  Edwardes  said  : 
"Every  other  faith  in  India  is  decaying.  Christianity 
alone  is  beginning  to  run  its  course."  Chunder  Sen 
said:  "India  is  already  won  for  Christ.  None  but 
Jesus,  none  but  Jesus,  is  worthy  to  have  India,  and 
he  shall  have  it." 

Seventy  years  ago  there  was  not  a  single  Christian 
in  all  Burmah.  Now  there  are  84,000  out  of  a  popula- 
tion of  8,000,000.  There  are  500  churches  largely 
self-supporting.  The  Christian  Karens  number  about 
200,000.  There  are  from  500  to  600  churches  practi- 
cally self-supporting.  They  set  aside  as  much  of  the 
harvest  as  may  be  needed  for  the  support  of  the  na- 
tive pastors  before  they  take  anything  for  themselves. 
They  also  send  missionaries  into  Siam  and  support 
them  fully.  When  the  work  began  among  these  peo- 
ple it  was  said  that  they  were  as  untamable  as  the 
wild  cow  on  the  mountains.  Then  they  were  a  heath- 
en power;  now  they  are  an  evangelizing  power. 

Japan  did  not  permit  public  preaching  till  1872, 
though  certain  ports  were  open  since  1853.  There  are 
now  344  churches  with  a  membership  of  about  40,000. 
A  missionary  has  said  of  the  work  in  this  field:  "The 
half  has  not  been  told,  it  can  not  be  told;  it  must  be 
seen  and  felt  on  the  ground."  Missionaries  agree 
that  in  a  few  years  their  work  will  be  done;  the 
native  church  will  complete  the  task.  The  triumph 
of  the  gospel  in  Japan  is  the  marvel  of  the  age. 

Morrison  entered  China  in  1807.  At  that  time  it 
was  a  capital  crime  to  preach  Christ  in  the  empire. 
In  1842  five  cities  were  opened  to  the  Christian  relig- 
ion; in  1860  the  Avhole  country  was  thrown  open.     In 


68  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

1845  there  were  six  converts;  in  1861  there  were 
2,000;  in  1871  there  were  8,000;  in  1881  there  were 
20,000;  and  now  there  are  50,000.  There  are  550 
churches,  of  which  100  or  more  are  entirely  self-sup- 
porting, and  many  of  the  remainder  are  partly  so. 
A  missionary  in  North  China  says  the  people  are  com- 
ing over  in  masses  to  inquire  about  Christianity.  A 
native  said,  "It  is  plain  that  our  relfgions  are  declin- 
ing, and  that  the  religion  of  Jesus  will  conquer." 
Some  old  people  said:  "We  are  too  old  to  change 
our  faith,  but  our  children  and  our  grandchildren  will 
be  with  you."  Some  years  ago  an  edict  was  sent  to 
all  the  provinces  calling  upon  the  people  to  regard  the 
missionaries  as  teachers  of  virtue,  and  to  treat  them 
as  friends  and  not  as  enemies. 

Eighty  years  ago  Sierra  Leone  was  without  the  gos- 
pel. William  Johnson  found  1,000  persons  at 
Regent's  Town,  who  had  been  saved  from  the  slave 
ships.  They  represented  a  score  of  tribes,  and  seemed 
absolutely  beyond  reformation.  They  had  no  morals, 
were  shiftless,  brutal,  thieves  and  murderers,  crowd- 
ing together  in  filthy  huts,  without  even  the  concep- 
tion of  marriage.  Their  religion  was  demon-worship. 
Before  a  year  passed  old  and  young  began  to  inquire 
after  salvation.  Idleness  and  ignorance  gave  place  to 
industry  and  intelligence.  Trades,  and  even  the 
learned  professions,  took  the  place  of  lawlessness  and 
violence.  They  built  a  stone  church,  which  was  filled 
regularly  with  2,000  worshipers.  The  schools  were 
crowded  with  children.  All  this  was  done  in  seven 
years.  Now  out  of  a  population  of  37,000  there  are 
32,000  professing  Christians.  Several  young  men 
bave  been  graduated  from  Cambridge  and  Oxford. 
Sierra  Leone  was  once  a  mass  of  idolatry,  ignorance, 
superstition,  and  barbarism :  Sierra  Leone  is  now  the 
center  of    great    missionary    operations.       Its  light 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MODERN   MISSIONS.  69 

shines  far  and  wide  out  into  the  pagan  night. — George 
Schmidt,  a  Moravian,  went  to  South  Africa  in  1737. 
The  Dutch  colonists  had  no  use  for  him  or  his  mes- 
sage, and  drove  him  out.  Fifty  years  later  some  men 
of  the  same  body  took  up  his  work.  They  found  a 
pear  tree  that  he  had  planted,  and  for  five  years  its 
branches  constituted  their  only  chapel  and  school. 
There  are  now  300,000  Christians  in  South  Africa. 
There  are  thousands  of  children  in  the  high  schools 
and  hundreds  of  thousands  in  the  common  schools. 
When  Melville  B.  Cox  was  starting  for  West  Africa 
he  said  to  a  young  college  friend,  "If  I  die,  I  want 
you  to  come  out  and  write  my  epitaph."  Said  he, 
"I  will,  but  what  shall  I  write?"  His  reply  was, 
"Write  this,  'Let  a  thousand  fall,  let  Africa  be  re- 
deemed.' "  There  are  40,000  Christians  in  West 
Africa.  There  are  hundreds  of  young  men  in  semin- 
aries preparing  for  the  ministry,  and  thousands  of 
children  under  Christian  instruction,  Avhile  great 
multitudes  have  heard  the  gospel.  Moffat  says  that 
when  he  began  his  work  the  natives  said,  "You  talk 
to  us  about  King  Jesus,  you  talk  to  us  about  Jehovah; 
let  us  see  the  first  Bechuana  who  will  bow  to  that 
Jesus!"  But  the  time  came  when  he  could  write 
home  and  say:  "We  can  point, not  to  one,  but  to  hun- 
dreds, who  have  yielded  obedience  to  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ;  who  are  adorning  the  gospel  which  they  be- 
lieve; who  are  living  epistles  known  and  read  by  all 
the  heathen  around,  who  admire,  wonder,  and  hate 
to  change.  The  robber  has  become  honest,  the  un- 
clean chaste,  the  murderer  feeling,  and  individuals 
who  were  once  a  terror  to  all  around  them  are  shed- 
ding tears  of  contrition  and  sorrow  over  the  sins  they 
have  committed." 

At  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  the  people 
of  Madagascar  were  pagans.      The  first  missionaries 


70  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

were  told  that  they  might  as  well  try  to  convert  sheep 
or  cattle  or  asses.  There  are  now  230,000  adherents 
to  Christianity  on  that  noble  island.  The  Bible  and 
the  laws  of  the  realm  lie  side  by  side  on  the  corona- 
tion table.  Over  that  table  there  is  an  arch  with  the 
inscription,  "Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  on  earth 
peace,  good-will  towards  men."  Some  time  ago  a 
ship  landed  a  cargo  of  900  barrels  of  rum  on  the 
shores  of  Madagascar.  The  authorities  of  that  once 
heathen  nation  purchased  the  whole  cargo,  broke  open 
the  barrels  and  poured  out  the  contents  upon  the 
sand.  When  the  Queen  was  spoken  to  about  the 
profit  that  might  accrue  from  this  traffic,  she  said, 
"I  can  do  nothing  for  my  own  profit  that  would  in- 
jure the  bodies  and  souls  of  my  people."  Some  so- 
called  Christian  nations  who  put  blood-money  into 
the  public  coffers  and  justify  this  traffic  because  of 
the  revenue  derived  from  it,  might  learn  a  lesson 
from  this  woman. 

A  great  work  has  been  done  in  the  South  Seas. 
John  Geddie  went  to  the  New  Hebrides  in  1848.  He 
found  the  people  without  clothing,  and  without  a 
written  language.  They  were  all  cannibals.  Every 
wife  wore  a  cord  around  her  neck  with  which  she  was 
strangled  the  moment  her  husband  died.  Infanticide 
was  common.  Children  destroj^ed  their  parents  when 
they  were  sick  or  aged.  Prisoners  of  war  were 
feasted  ou  by  the  conquerors.  This  was  the  fate  of 
all  ship-wrecked  sailors  and  strangers  who  fell  into 
their  hands.  Since  that  time  this  group  has  sent  out 
150  of  their  best  and  ablest  men  and  women  to  the 
adjoining  islands  to  help  in  giving  them  the  gospel. 
Every  convert  becomes  in  a  sense  a  missionary.  By 
cultivating  arrowroot  the  people  paid  $7,000  for 
printing  the  Bible  in  their  own  language.  When  Dr. 
Geddie   died   they   wrote   on  the    simple   monument 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MODERN  MISSIONS.  71 

over  his  grave  these  words:  "When  he  came  among 
us  there  were  no  Christians;  wlien  he  left  us  there 
were  no  heathen." — The  first  missionaries  landed  on 
Samoa  in  1830,  and  soon  gathered  the  entire  popula- 
tion into  Christian  schools.  In  ten  years  30,000  em- 
braced the  gospel  and  heathenism  passed  rapidly 
awa}'.  The  Bible  was  translated  and  within  seven 
years  an  edition  of  10,000  copies  was  exhausted. 
The  natives  paid  $15,000  for  this  edition.  They  sup- 
port the  native  pastors  and  in  addition  pay  $6,000  a 
year  to  the  London  Missionary  Society,  Within  one 
year  after  the  work  began  at  Rarotonga  the  whole 
population  of  the  Hervey  group,  numbering  10,000, 
had  thrown  away  their  idols,  and  in  ten  years  not  a 
vestige  of  idolatry  was  left.  John  Williams  said:  "I 
found  them  without  a  written  language,  and  left  them 
reading  in  their  own  tongue  the  wonderful  words  of 
God.  I  found  them  ignorant  of  the  nature  of  wor- 
ship; when  I  left  them  I  was  not  aware  that  there 
was  a  house  in  the  islands  where  family  prayer  was  not 
observed  every  morning  and  evening."  Until  1820 
the  Society  Islands  vigorously  resisted  any  attempt  to 
impose  the  new  faith  upon  them.  Even  the  lives  of 
the  missionaries  were  in  danger.  Now  all  that  is 
changed.  With  few  exceptions  the  natives  have 
abandoned  their  idolatry.  They  have  erected  schools 
and  churches,  and  even  send  missionaries  to  other 
islands.  John  Williams  was  killed  and  eaten  at 
Erromanga.  Some  time  after  Mr.  Gordon  took  up 
the  work.  In  a  few  years  he  and  his  wife  were  slain. 
A  younger  brother  of  the  murdered  man  sprang  into 
the  breach;  he  in  turn  was  slain.  A  man  by  the  name 
of  Robertson  volunteei*ed  for  the  place  left  vacant, 
and  won  these  fierce  savages  to  Christ.  Recently 
Erromanga  sent  out  twenty-five  missionaries  into  the 
regions  beyond,  that  they  might  see  to  whom  no  tid- 


72  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES . 

ings  of  Him  came,  and  that  they  who  had  not  heard 
might  understand. 

John  Hunt  went  to  Fiji  in  1835.  The  people 
were  degraded  and  demouized.  As  many  as  a  hun- 
dred human  bodies  were  cooked  at  one  time.  Prison- 
ers were  fattened  like  swine  for  the  slaughter.  Dead 
bodies  were  dug  up  that  had  been  buried  ten  or 
twelve  days  and  could  be  cooked  only  in  the  form  of 
puddings.  Limbs  were  cut  from  living  men  and 
women  and  cooked  and  eaten  in  the  presence  of  the 
victims,  who  had  previously  been  compelled  to  dig  the 
oven  and  cut  the  firewood  for  this  purpose.  Living 
men  were  buried  beside  every  post  of  a  chief's  new 
house,  and  must  needs  stand  clasping  it  while  the 
earth  was  gradually  heaped  over  their  heads.  Men 
were  bound  hand  and  foot  and  laid  on  the  ground  to 
act  as  rollers  when  a  chief  launched  a  canoe.  Whole 
villages  were  depopulated  simply  to  supply  their 
neighbors  with  fresh  meat.  Now  cannibalism  is  ex- 
tinct. There  is  not  one  avowed  heathen  left.  John 
Hunt  describes  the  change.  For  weary  months  he 
could  say,  "Lord,  who  has  believed  our  report?  And 
to  whom  has  the  arm  of  the  Lord  been  revealed?" 
More  than  once  did  the  chief  admonish  him  to  be 
careful  how  he  conducted  himself,  intimating  that 
white  men  made  good  eating;  they  taste  like  ripe 
bananas.  But  he  did  not  faint,  and  in  due  season  saw 
multitudes  turning  to  the  Lord.  At  the  close  of  a 
great  revival  he  states  that  the  Te  Deum  was  chanted 
with  a  nobler  reality  than  v»^as  ever  reached  by  robed 
clerks  and  choristers  at  a  warrior's  triumph.  "It  was 
the  fit  victory-song  of  redeemed  souls;  and  the  dark 
faces  quivered  with  joy  as  they  answered  one  another, 
saying,  'We  praise  thee,  O  God!  we  acknowledge 
thee  to  be  the  Lord!"  But  when  they  reached  the 
words,  'Thou  art  the  King  of  glory,  O  Christ,'  voices 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MODERN   MISSIONS.  73 

failed  and  streaming  eyes  and  broken  cries  of  'Jesus, 
Jesus!'  lifted  a  more  eloquent  praise  to  God."  When 
John  Hunt  lay  dying  at  the  age  of  thirty-seven,  a  native 
offered  this  prayer:  "O  Lord,  we  know  that  we  are 
very  wicked,  but  spare  thy  servant.  If  one  must  die 
take  me,  take  ten  of  us,  but  spare  thy  servant  to  preach 
Christ  to  the  people."  Some  time  ago  a  call  was 
made  for  fifteen  missionaries  to  work  in  New  Guinea. 
The  work  was  difficult  and  dangerous;  the  climate 
was  unhealthf  ul.  Many  of  those  who  had  gone  be- 
fore had  been  murdered  or  had  died  of  sicknesss,  yet 
forty  volunteered,  and  eighteen  were  sent.  In  70 
years  300  islands  were  evangelized  and  became  in  turn 
evangelistic  centers. 

Samuel  Marsden  began  his  work  in  New  Zealand  in 
1814.     In  a  little  while  young  men  and  maidens,  old 
men  and  children,  all  with  one  heart  and  voice  were 
praising  God,  all  offering  up  daily  their  morning  and 
evening  prayers,  all  searching  the  Scriptures  to  find 
the  way  of  eternal  life,  all  valuing  the  word  of  God 
above  every  other  gift,  all  in  a  greater  or  less  degree 
bringing  forth  in  their  own  lives  some  of  the  fruits  of 
the  Spirit.      Bishop  Selwyn  said,    "I  seem  to  see  a 
nation  born  in  a  day."     Out  of  a  population  of  44,000 
Maoris,      25,000  are  Christians.— Darwin  tells  of  the 
'  natives  of  Tierra  del  Fuego  whom  he  saw  seated  on 
the  rocks,  throwing  their  arms  wildly  around  their 
heads,  their  long  hair  streaming  in  the   wind.     They 
seemed  to  be  the  troubled  spirits  of  another  world. 
To  him  it  seemed  utterly  useless'to  send  the  gospel  to 
such  a  set  of  savages,  probably  the  very  lowest  of  the 
race.      A  child  was  found  on  the  streets  of  Bristol, 
England.      As  he  was  found  on  St.  Thomas'  day,  he 
was  called  Thomas.      As  he  was  found  between  two 
bridges    he    was    called    Bridges— Thomas    Bridges. 
This  boy  was  educated,   became  a   missionary,  and 


74  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

went  to  Tierra  del  Fuego  and  won  the  natives  to 
Christ.  When  Darwin  was  an  old  man  and  his  fame 
filled  the  world,  he  learned  of  the  work  of  this  man, 
and  he  wrote,  "The  success  of  this  mission  is  most 
wonderful,  and  charms  me,  as  I  had  always  prophesied 
utter  failure.  It  is  a  grand  success.  I  shall  feel 
proud  if  your  committee  think  fit  to  elect  me  an  hon- 
orary member  of  the  society.  I  have  often  said  that 
the  progress  of  Japan  was  the  greatest  wonder  of  the 
world,  but  I  declare  that  the  progress  of  the  Fucgians 
is  almost  equally  wonderful.  It  is  truly  wonderful 
about  their  honesty  and  their  language.  I  certainly 
should  have  predicted  that  not  all  the  missionaries  in 
the  world  could  have  done  what  has  been  done."  Mr, 
Darwin  was  not  a  Christian,  nor  a  believer  in  the 
Divine  origin  of  the  Christian  religion,  but  he  con- 
tributed to  the  support  of  this  work. — New  Guinea 
was  not  entered  until  1871.  The  ship  that  bore  the 
missionaries  to  that  land  had  some  salt  beef  in  the 
barrels  on  deck.  The  natives  had  never  seen  salt  beef 
and  did  not  know  what  to  nuike  of  it.  They  said, 
"This  is  not  kangaroo ;  this  is  not  pig;  this  must  be 
human  beef."  As  the  barrels  were  nearly  empty  they 
got  away  as  speedily  as  possible.  Already  600  miles 
of  coast-line  have  been  opened;  seventy  stations  have, 
been  founded ;  six  languages  have  been  reduced  to  a 
written  form;  sixty  young  men  are  preparing  to  be 
teachers  and  twenty-five  have  gone  out.  As  soon  as 
the  gospel  touches  the  hearts  of  these  people  they 
want  to  go  out  and  teach  it  to  others.  A  native 
preacher  said,  "The  time  has  come  for  us  to  ])o  up 
and  doing.  Foreigners  have  brought  us  the  gospel ; 
many  have  died  of  fever;  several  have  been  speared 
and  tomahawked ;  now  let  us  carry  the  gospel  to  other 
districts.  If  we  die,  it  is  well;  for  we  die  in  Christ. 
If  we  are  murdered,   it  is  well;     it  is  in  carrying  his 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MODERN   MISSIONS.  75 

name  and  love,  and  it  will  be  for  him."  In  1871  the 
people  did  not  know  what  money  was;  in  1888  a  mis- 
sionary collection  was  taken  up  at  one  station  which 
amounted  to  1300. 

As  one  result  of  the  missionary  activity  of  the  pres- 
ent century  we  can  point  to  3,000,000  who  have  been 
called  out  of  darkness,  and  to  at  least  50,000,000  who 
are  more  or  less  enlightened  and  controlled  by  the  gos- 
pel of  the  grace  of  God.  The  Dark  Continent  is  Ijelted 
with  mission  stations.  Men  of  God  are  pressing  in 
from  every  side  and  preaching  and  teaching  Jesus  the 
Christ  to  tribes  that  know  him  not.  China  is  dotted 
with  schools  and  chapels  and  hospitals.  Japan  and 
India  have  heard  the  word  of  life,  the  gospel  of  salva- 
tion. The  people  of  the  islands  of  the  sea  are  clothed 
and  in  their  right  minds.  In  Korea  and  Siara  the 
work  has  been  auspiciously  begun.  A  Korean  man- 
darin states  that  there  are  believers  in  all  the  prov- 
inces. Let  it  be  known  and  remembered  that  there 
remains  yet  much  land  to  l)e  possessed.  "  Points  of 
light  are  visible  amid  the  darkness,  like  the  watch-fires 
of  an  invading  host,  telling  us  that  the  advance  guard 
is  already  in  possession."  But  compared  with  the 
vast  number  yet  to  be  reached,  what  has  been  done  is 
only  as  a  drop  in  the  bucket.  But  when  we  take  into 
account  the  shortness  of  the  time  we  have  ])een  in  the 
field  and  the  half-hearted  manner  in  which  we  have 
been  prosecuting  the  work,  and  the  obstacles  that  had 
to  be  encountered  and  overcome,  the  marvel  is  that  so 
much  has  been  accomplished.  There  is  stimulus  in 
the  thought  of  success.  What  has  been  done  shows 
us  that  the  evangelization  of  the  world  is  entirely 
practicable,  if  we  will  have  faith  in  God  and  go  for- 
ward in  obedience  to  his  command.  If  the  church 
should  gird  herself  for  the  conflict  and  put  forth  all 


76  MISSIONARY   ADDRESSES. 

her  strength,  she  could  preach   the  gospel  to  every 
creature  in  a  single  generation. 

//.  Let  us  consider  some  of  the  indirect  results.  A 
little  book  was  Avritten  in  England,  entitled,  "Are 
Foreign  Missions  Doing  Any  Good?"  The  wi-iter 
does  not  speak  of  conversions,  but  of  general  and 
social  effects.  No  statistics  can  convey  any  adequate 
idea  of  the  influence  of  the  gospel.  The  effect  i* 
often  enormous  where  there  are  few  or  no  conver- 
sions. The  author  shows  that  cruel  customs  have 
been  abolished,  education  has  been  promoted,  womaa 
has  been  assigned  her  rightful  place  in  society,  civili- 
zation has  been  greatly  advanced.  The  writer  does 
not  appeal  to  the  testimony  of  the  missionaries,  but  to 
well-known  jDublic  men,  to  government  records,  and 
to  the  reports  of  travelers.  He  refers  for  proof  of  his 
statements  to  such  men  as  Lord  Lawrence,  Lord 
Northbrook,Sir  Herbert  Edwardes,  Sir  William  Muir, 
Sir  Bartle  Frere,  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  and  many 
others.  Thus  Sir  Bartle  Frere  says,  "  Whatever  you 
may  be  told  to  the  contrary,  the  teaching  of  Christian- 
ity among  one  hundred  and  sixteen  millions  of  civil- 
ized, industrious  Hindus  and  Mohammedans  in  India 
is  effecting  changes,  moral,  social,  and  political,  which 
for  extent  and  rapidity  of  effect  are  far  more  extraor- 
dinary than  anything  you  or  your  fathers  have  wit- 
nessed in  modern  Europe."  This  same  eminent 
authority  adds,  "  Christianity  has  in  the  course  of 
fifty  years  made  its  way  to  every  part  of  the  vast 
mass  of  Indian  civilized  humanity,  and  is  now  an 
active,  operative,  aggressive  power  in  every  branch  of 
social  and  political  life  on  the  Continent."  Sir 
Charles  Aitchison  says,  "Apart  from  the  strictly 
Christian  aspect  of  the  question,  I  should,  from  a 
purely  administrative  point  of  view,  deplore  the  dry- 
ing up  of  Christian  liberality  to  missions  as  a  most 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MODERN   MISSIONS.  77 

lamentable  check  to  social  and  moral  progress,  and  a 
grievous  injury  to  the  best  interests  of  the  people." 
Sir  Rivers  Thompson  says,  "In  my  opinion  Christian 
Missions  have  done  more  real  and  lasting  good  than 
all  other  agencies  coml^ined.  They  have  been  the  salt 
of  the  country  and  the  true  saviors  of  the  Empire." 
The  authorities  admit  that  the  labors  of  the  mission- 
aries have  been  increasing,  year  by  year,  the  number 
of  loyal,  law-abiding  citizens — the  very  foundation  of 
good  government.  ^Moreover,  some  of  the  most 
cruel  customs  of  India  have  been  abolished,  such  as 
human  sacrifices,  the  burning  of  widows,  the  destruc- 
tion of  infants,  the  exposure  of  the  sick  and  the  dj'ing 
on  the  banks  of  the  Ganges,  and  Juggernaut's  car. 
The  missionaries  were  the  first  to  undertake  the 
education  of  women.  When  Dr.  Caldwell  opened  a 
school  for  girls  the  natives  shrugged  their  shoulders 
and  said,  "  This  fellow  will  be  teaching  the  cows 
next."  The  women  were  taught  that  they  had  no 
souls  and  no  intellects.  This  falsehood  was  beaten  in 
and  burned  in  till  the  women  believed  it.  Now 
women  compete  with  the  men  in  the  government 
schools  for  prizes  and  get  a  goodly  share  of  those 
offered.  Dr.  Mitchell  says  it  can  be  told  from  the 
appearance  of  the  women  at  the  well  whether  a  vil- 
lage is  largely  Christianized  or  not.  When  it  is,  the 
<iress  of  the  women  is  more  seemly;  their  very  look  is 
different.  Their  faces  are  lighted  up  with  new  hope 
and  new  joy;  it  is  the  hope  of  immortality;  it  is  the 
joy  of  their  Lord  and  is  unspeakable  and  full  of 
glory. — Dr.  March  says,  "  One  of  the  first  outward 
results  of  the  new  life  is  seen  in  the  effort  to  improve 
their  wretched  habitations  and  make  them  more  like 
Christian  homes.  I  have  visited  the  homes  of  Chris- 
tian natives,  and  the  first  glance  was  enough  to  tell 
me  that  something  better  than  Hinduism  had  touched 


78  MISSIONARY   ADDRESSES. 

the  hearts  and  quickened  the  minds  of  the  occupants. 
Neatness  and  order  took  the  place  of  filth  and  confu- 
sion; separate  apartments  had  been  made  for  differ- 
ent members  of  the  family;  the  ground  outside  had 
been  set  with  trees  and  flowers  and  made  attractive  to 
children,  that  they  might  be  kept  from  the  vice  and 
vulgarity  of  the  heathen  village  and  the  common 
street."  India  has  been  profoundly  affected  by  the 
gospel.  The  number  of  conversions  does  not  indicate 
all  that  has  been  accomplished.  Chunder  Sen  said, 
"The  spirit  of  Christianity  has  already  pervaded  the 
whole  atmosphere  of  Indian  society,  and  we  breathe, 
think,  feel  and  move  in  a  Christian  atmosphere. 
Native  society  is  being  roused,  enlightened  and  re- 
formed under  the  influence  of  Christian  education." 
Col.  Denby,  American  Minister  to  China,  made  it 
his  business  to  visit  every  mission  in  the  open  ports 
of  China.  This  inspection  satisfied  him  that  the  mis- 
sionaries deserve  all  possible  respect,  encouragement 
and  consideration.  He  found  no  fault  with  them 
except  that  of  excessive  zeal.  He  tells  us  that  Chris- 
tianity owes  them  a  vast  debt.  "  They  have  been  the 
educators,  physicians  and  almoners  of  the  Chinese. 
All  over  China  they  have  schools  and  colleges  and 
hospitals.  They  have  spread  the  Bible  broadcast,  and 
have  prepared  many  school-books  in  Chinese.  Com- 
merce and  civilization  follow  where  these  unselfish 
pioneers  have  blazed  the  way.  Leaving  all  religious 
questions  out  of  consideration,  humanity  must  honor 
a  class,  which,  for  no  pay,  or  very  inadequate  pay, 
devotes  itself  to  charity  and  philanthropy.  It  is  use- 
less to  decry  these  men  or  their  work.  Believe  no 
man  when  he  sneers  at  the  missionaries.  The  man  is 
simply  not  posted  on  the  work.  I  saw  a  quiet,  cheer- 
ful woman  teaching  forty  or  more  Chinese  girls. 
Beneath  the  shadow  of  a  forbidden  cit}'  I  heard  these 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MODERN  MISSIONS.  79 

girls  sing  the  Psalms  of  David  and  '  Home,  Sweet 
Home.'  I  saw  a  male  teacher  teaching  forty  or  more 
boys.  The  men  and  women  who  put  in  eight  hours  a 
day  teaching  Chinese  children  on  a  salary  that  barely 
enables  them  to  liv^e,  are  heroes  and  heroines  as  truly 
as  Grant  or  Sheridan,  Nelson  or  Farragut."  Denby 
was  writing  to  sinners  like  himself,  and  this  is  his  tes- 
timony. Said  he,  "  I  write  as  Pliny  might  write  to 
Trajan,  I  am  a  man,  and  nothing  pertaining  to  human 
interests  is  a  matter  of  indifference  to  me." 

Formerly,  the  terror  of  the  South  Sea  Islands  was 
the  barbarism  of  the  nativ^es.  When  a  ship  was 
wrecked  the  natives  appropriated  the  cargo,  and 
often  murdered  the  crew.  Thus  Magellan  was  killed 
at  the  Ladrone  Islands,  and  Cook  at  the  Sandwich 
Islands.  Now  it  is  safe  for  ships  to  go  wherever  a 
mission  has  been  established.  If  one  is  wrecked,  the 
natives  exert  themselves  to  save  life  and  property. 
The  change  is  so  great  that  some  ship-owners  and 
navigators  have  said  that  the  property  thus  saved  to 
commerce  is  worth  more  than  it  has  cost  to  evangelize 
these  islands.  Travelers  agree  in  saying  that  enor- 
mous benefits  have  followed  the  labors  of  the  mission- 
aries in  the  Pacific.  Darwin  has  shown  that  human 
sacrifices,  and  "the  power  of  an  idolatrous  priest- 
hood, a  system  of  profligacy  unparalleled  in  any  part 
of  the  world,  infanticide,  a  consequence  of  that  sys- 
tem, l)lood3'wars  where  the  conquerors  spared  neither 
women  nor  children — all  these  have  been  abolished; 
and  dishonesty,  intemperance,  and  licentiousness  have 
been  greatly  reduced  by  the  introduction  of  Chris- 
tianity." The  arts  of  peace,  the  comforts  and  conven- 
iences of  civilized  life  have  followed.  He  tells  us 
that  the  house  has  been  built,  the  windows  framed, 
the  fields  plowed,  and  even  the  trees  grafted  by  the 
New  Zealander. 


80  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

A  Hottentot  was  asked  what  good  missionaries  had 
done  for  him  and  his  people.  Said  he:  "Before 
they  came  amongst  us,  we  had  no  other  clothing  than 
filthy  sheepskins.  Now  we  are  dressed  in  European 
manufactures.  We  had  no  written  language;  now  we 
read  the  Bible  in  our  own  tongue,  or  get  it  read  to 
us.  We  were  without  religion ;  now  we  worship  God 
with  our  families.  Then  we  had  no  idea  of  morals; 
now  we  are  faithful.  We  were  given  to  profligacy 
and  drunkenness;  now  industry  and  sobriety  prevail 
amongst  us.  We  had  no  property ;  now  the  Hotten- 
tots of  this  place  have  fifty  wagons  and  a  great  many 
cattle.  We  were  exposed  to  be  shot  like  wild  beasts, 
but  the  missionaries  placed  themselves  between  us 
and  the  muskets  of  our  enemies."  Dr.  Lindsay  used 
to  say  that  when  a  naked  Zulu  got  so  far  along  as  to 
put  on  a  pair  of  duck  pantaloons  and  a  calico  shirt, 
and  to  sit  on  a  stool  nine  inches  high,  he  was  about 
nine  hundred  miles  above  the  nude  savages  around 
him. 

Wherever  missionaries  have  gone,  they  have  trans- 
lated the  Bible,  they  have  introduced  the  printing- 
press  and  the  sewing-machine,  they  have  established 
churches  and  schools,  they  have  taught  the  natives 
the  use  of  the  plow,  the  reaper,  and  the  flouring-mill; 
they  have  fostered  commerce  and  have  contributed  to 
national  regeneration.  Lord  Lawrence  says:  "Where 
the  gospel  has  not  actually  converted,  it  has  checked 
and  controlled;  where  it  has  not  renewed,  it  has 
reformed;  where  it  has  not  sanctified,  it  has  softened 
and  refined.  It  has  everywhere  proclaimed  the  dig- 
nity of  woman,  the  sanctity  of  marriage,  and  the 
brotherhood  of  man."  And  Livingstone,  the  prince 
of  missionaries,  says  that  the  indirect  results  alone 
are  worth  all  that  missions  have  cost. 

Sometimes  you  hear  about  the  failure  of  missions. 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MODERN  MISSIONS.  81 

Some  men  start  out  with  the  assumption  that  mis- 
sions ought  to  fail,  and  then  triumphantly  conclude 
that  they  have  failed.  It  has  been  urged  that  missions 
have  failed  because  the  number  of  converts  in  any 
year  is  not  as  great  as  the  natural  increase  of  popula- 
tion. The  question  is  not  as  to  the  absolute,  but  as 
to  the  relative,  increase.  Which  is  increasing  the 
faster,  the  Christian  or  the  non-Christian  people?  In 
India  the  whole  population  increased  from  1871  to 
1881  at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent;  the  Christian  popula- 
tion at  the  rate  of  eighty-six  per  cent.  The  whole 
population  doubles  in  a  century;  the  Christian  popu- 
lation doubles  in  a  decade.  The  critic  says  it  is  a  race 
between  a  tortoise  and  a  railway  train.  So  it  is,  if 
you  change  the  figure.  Heathenism  is  the  tortoise; 
Christianity  is  the  railway  train.  The  tortoise  started 
several  thousand  3'ears  in  advance,  but  the  railway 
train  is  catching  up,  and  the  tortoise  would  do  well  to 
clear  the  track.  A  Hindu  Tract  sounds  an  alarm,  and 
calls  upon  all  to  resist  the  attacks  of  Christians: 
"The  life-blood  of  our  society  is  fast  ebbing  away. 
The  mischief  under  which  we  labor  is  owing  chiefly  to 
the  influence  of  Christianity,  brought  steadily  and 
constantly  to  bear  on  our  national  mind.  The  count- 
less Christian  missionaries  at  work  in  this  country  are 
in  a  fair  way  of  achieving  their  object.  The  unflag- 
ging energy  and  the  systematic  efforts  with  which 
these  bodies  are  working  at  the  foundations  of  our 
society  will,  unless  counteracted  in  time,  surely  cause 
a  mighty  collapse  of  it  at  no  distant  date.  Unless  we 
now  shake  off  our  lethargy  and  be  on  our  guard 
against  the  hard  blows  to  which  our  society  is  daily 
exposed,  it  will  surely  be  turned  topsy-turvy  in  a  few 
generations.  Whoever  has  eyes  to  see  will  find  that, 
repulsed  at  one  point,  they  never  give  up  their 
6 


83  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

attempt,  but  assail  us  at  another  with  renewed  and 
redoubled  vigor.  Let  caste  and  sectarian  differences 
be  forgotten,  and  let  all  the  people  join  as  one  man 
to  banish  Christianity  from  our  land."  This  docu- 
ment calls  upon  the  people  to  oppose  the  missionaries 
in  every  way  possible.  If  a  Christian  begins  to 
preach  in  the  bazaar,  the  Hindus  are  to  begin  to 
speak  a  few  feet  away,  so  that  no  one  may  hear  the 
gospel.  This  frantic  appeal  shows  us  how  the  prog- 
ress of  the  Christian  religion  is  regarded  by  the 
Hindus.  If  the  talk  of  the  critics  was  true,  and  mis- 
sions a  failure,  there  would  be  no  such  an  appeal 
made.  It  is  because  Christianity  is  going  on  from 
conquest  to  conquest,  that  the  orthodox  Hindus  are 
alarmed.  The  Mohammedans  speak  in  the  same 
doleful  strain.  "You  have  reached,"  they  say,  "such 
depths  of  degradation,  that  Christians,  morning  and 
evening,  are  wiping  Islam  out,  and  you  sleep.  In 
two  or  three  generations  all  women,  being  drawn  to 
the  Christian  faith,  and  careless  of  their  own,  will  go 
into  the  churches  and  become  Christians.  O  Moham- 
medans! have  you  not  so  much  shame  left  as  to  make 
you  save  your  wives  and  daughters,  and  to  cause  you 
to  make  proper  arrangements  for  their  education?" 
Whatever  the  critics  may  say,  the  non-Christian  peo- 
ples are  not  convinced  that  Christianity  is  a  failure. 
Every  school  and  chapel  and  hospital  and  orphanage 
and  mission  home  is  a  fort,  and  shows  that  Christ  is 
taking  possession  of  these  lands  for  himself.  They 
mean  to  these  nations  what  the  castles  erected  by  Will- 
iam the  Conqueror  meant  to  the  people  of  England. — 
In  India,  conversion  means  expulsion  from  home  and 
caste;  it  means  financial  ruin.  Many  are  convinced 
of  the  truth  of  Christianity  who  are  afraid  to  confess 
their  faith.  Probably  ten  are  convinced  for  every 
one  baptized.     Lord  Lawrence  says  this  will  go  on 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MODERN   MISSIONS.  83 

till  their  numbers  are  sufficiently  large  to  enable  tlieni 
to  stand  forth  and  show  their  faith  without  becoming 
outcasts  and  pariahs.  Sir  Monier  Williams  thinks 
that  the  part  the  missiouaries  have  played  is  as  noth- 
ing compared  with  the  role  they  are  destined  to  play 
in  the  future.  The  foundations  of  heathenism  are 
being  undermined.  It  took  years  to  honeycomb  Hell- 
gate  rock,  and  to  store  the  chambers  with  dynamite; 
in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  that  obstruction  to  com- 
merce was  removed.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  while 
some  critics  are  bemoaning  the  failure  of  missions, 
the  greatest  man  India  has  produced  in  a  century 
has  said  that  India  is  already  won  for  Christ.  British 
soldiers  and  civilians  give  $300,000  a  year  to  missions 
in  India.  They  are  on  the  ground  and  know  the  mag- 
nitude and  the  worth  of  what  is  being  done.  When 
they  are  retired  and  return  home  they  serve  on  the 
missionary  committees  and  spend  days  every  week  in 
administering  this  great  trust.  Men  who  have  led 
armies,  men  who  have  ruled  hundreds  of  millions,  sit 
around  the  council  table  in  the  mission  house  and 
give  the  secretaries  the  benefit  of  their  experience 
and  knowledge.  A  non-Christian  Hindu  has  said: 
"Christ  rules  British  India.  .  .  .  If  to  any  army 
pertains  the  honor  of  holding  India,  that  honor,  that 
army,  is  the  army  of  Christian  missionaries,  headed 
by  their  irresistible  Captain,  Jesus  Christ.  Their 
devotion  and  self-abnegation,  their  philanthropy, 
their  love  to  God,  their  attachment  and  allegiance  to 
the  truth, — all  these  have  found  a  place  in  the  grati- 
tude of  our  countrymen."  What  have  these  men 
done  under  God?  They  found  widows  burned,  in- 
fants thrown  into  the  Ganges,  young  men  and  maid- 
ens decked  with  flowers  slain  before  the  goddess 
Kali,  Juggernaut's  car  crushed  hundreds  beneath  its 
wheels,    lepers  were  buried  alive,  children  brought 


84  MISSIONARY    ADDRESSES. 

their  parents  to  the  river's  brink  and  filled  their 
mouths  with  mud.  These  crimes  and  atrocities  have 
been  prohibited  b}"  law.  Who  were  the  agents  that 
secured  these  reforms?  Missionaries,  who  were 
branded  as  fanatics,  and  satirized  as  fools;  but  they 
ceased  not  to  denounce  these  evils  till  they  ceased  to 
exist.  It  has  been  well  said  that  to  talk  of  the  failure 
of  missions  is  to  talk  like  an  ignorant  and  a  faithless 
man. 

AVhat  does  the  recent  aggressiveness  of  almost  every 
heathen  system  mean?  It  means  that  the  leaders  feel 
that  their  systems  are  in  danger.  One  said  to  the 
missionaries  in  China:  "I  will  tell  you  what  3'ou 
have  done  here.  You  have  given  Buddhism  a  resur- 
rection," In  Africa,  in  India,  and  in  China,  Moham- 
medanism is  manifesting  new  life  and  vigor.  In  China 
alone  there  have  been  100,000  conversions  to  Moham- 
medanism. Delhi,  it  has  been  said,  is  a  striking  in- 
stance of  the  desperate  reaction  of  heathenism  in 
India.  The  lion  is  stung  at  last.  If  he  did  not  feel 
the  darts,  he  would  still  lie  dormant.  The  teachers  of 
these  systems  feel  as  the  silversmiths  in  Ephesus  felt 
— their  craft  is  in  danger.  The  men  who  have  turned 
the  world  upside  down  have  invaded  their  territory 
and  threaten  to  take  possession  of  their  temples  and 
their  worshipers  in  the  name  of  the  Captain  of  their 
salvation.  The  riots  in  China  are  proofs  of  the  suc- 
cess of  missions.  One  of  their  own  prophets  said 
that  they  would  not  make  all  this  fuss  about  nothing. 

Sometimes  it  is  asserted  that  not  only  are  there  few 
converts,  but  that  they  are  inferior  in  quality.  Critics 
who  have  not  been  on  the  ground  and  who  know 
almost  nothing  of  the  facts  continue  to  repeat  this 
assertion.  This  does  not  agree  with  the  testimony  of 
competent  witnesses.  Some  are  not  what  they  ought 
to  be;    none  are  angels,  or  just   men  made  perfect. 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MODERN  MISSIONS.  85 

Does  this  surprise  us?  We  do  not  have  to  go  to  the 
mission  fields  to  find  some  who  do  not  honor  their 
Lord.  In  the  early  church  we  find  such  men  as  Ana- 
nias, Simon  Magus,  Deraas,  Alexander,  Hymeneus, 
Philetus  and  others.  As  Jannes  and  Jambres  with- 
stood Moses,  so  there  were  men  of  reprobate  minds 
who  opposed  the  truth.  In  Corinth  a  crime  was  com- 
mitted and  gloried  in — a  crime  such  as  was  not  named 
among  the  heathen.  The  Galatians  were  bewitched. 
The  churches  of  Asia  were  admonished  to  repent  or 
their  candlesticks  would  be  taken  away.  These  were 
the  exception  and  not  the  rule.  It  was  not  by  such 
persons  that  paganism  was  vanquished  and  the  Roman 
Empire  won  to  the  faith.  The  same  is  true  in  the 
mission  field.  The  gospel  net  gathers  good  and  bad. 
In  the  same  field  wheat  and  tares  grow  side  by  side. 
The  men  and  boys  in  Uganda  who  were  placed  in  a 
crate  and  burned  to  a  cinder,  and  who  sang  praises 
till  their  tongues  were  swollen  and  they  could  sing  no 
more,  had  the  courage  and  the  endurance  of  Daniel, 
©f  Latimer  and  Ridley  and  Cranmer.  Not  one  of 
them  recanted,  even  when  told  that  their  lives  would 
be  spared  if  they  abjured  the  Christian  faith.  The 
head  executioner  told  the  king  that  he  had  never  seen 
men  die  so  bravely.  The  martyr  church  of  Madagas- 
car was  not  niade  up  of  rice  Christians  or  rupee 
Christians.  The  persecution  lasted  twenty-six  years ; 
in  that  time  ten  thousand  suffered  penalties  of  differ- 
ent kinds.  They  were  speared,  they  were  beheaded, 
they  were  thrown  from  the  Tarpeian  rock.  But  the 
church  increased  sevenfold  daring  the  persecution. 
During  the  Sepoy  mutiny  Christians  Avere  shot  from 
guns,  they  were  cut  down  by  the  sword,  they  died  o5 
starvation  in  the  jungles,  but  only  two  turned  Moham- 
medans through  fear.  In  the  South  Seas  some  con- 
verts  were   told  to  deny  Christ,  or  to  come  and  be 


86  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

cooked.  Said  the}',  "It  is  easy  to  come  and  be 
cooked;  it  is  hard  to  deny  Christ."  In  the  Hervey 
Group  hundreds  have  sacrificed  their  lives  in  seeking 
to  carry  the  gospel  to  their  brethren.  At  least  sixty 
members  of  one  church  perished  while  acting  as  mis- 
sionaries. The  converts  are  so  eager  to  go  out  that 
often  it  has  to  be  decided  by  lot  who  shall  stay  at 
home.  Stanley  tells  of  a  convert  who  was  accused  of 
stealing  a  gun.  He  said  over  and  over  again,  "  I  am 
a  Son  of  God;  I  would  not  «teaf."  In  the  New  York 
independent  there  is  a  report  of  a  critic  who  said  he 
did  not  think  that  the  converts  were  such  Christians 
as  they  ought  to  be,  for  he  did  not  think  them  very 
miLcli  above  the  average  of  professing  Christians  in 
New  England.  Of  the  converts  2,500  have  been  or- 
dained, 28,000  are  teachers  and  evangelists,  and  thous- 
ands of  native  schools  and  churches  are  self-support- 
ing, Darwin  said,  "  I  much  suspect  that  those  who 
have  abused  or  sneered  at  the  missionaries  have  gen- 
erally been  such  as  were  not  very  anxious  to  find  the 
natives  moral  and  intelligent  beings."  Those  who 
write  with  such  hostility  to  missions  are  men  who  find 
the  missionaries  an  obstacle  to  the  accomplishment  of 
their  evil  purposes.  E.  H.  Dana  said,  "The  mere 
seekers  of  pleasure,  power,  or  gain,  do  not  like  mis- 
sionary influence." 

It  is  easy  to  take  one  set  of  facts  and  prove  any 
cause  a  failure.  Cynics  have  asserted  that  marriage  is 
a  failure.  If  one  reads  only  the  divorce  columns  in 
the  papers,  he  will  be  able  to  make  out  his  case.  If 
that  was  all,  marriage  would  be  a  tremendous  failure. 
But  let  him  go  into  the  millions  of  happy  homes  on 
this  earth  and  he  will  think  differently.  Dr.  Pinker- 
ton  had  a  lecture  in  which  he  showed  that  in  some 
respects  savagery  was  better  than  civilization.  Some 
of  the  evils  incident  to  civilization  far  surpass  any- 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MODERN   MISSIONS.  87 

thing  iu  savagery.  Our  liquor  traffic,  for  example, 
would  not  be  tolerated  twenty-four  hours  by  any 
Mohammedan,  heathen,  or  savage  people.  But  no 
one  thinks  savagery  better  than  civilization.  Some 
think  and  assert  that  Christianity  is  a  failure.  Karl 
Pearson  says,  "I  for  one  am  ready  to  put  a  railing 
around  the  ruins,  that  they  may  be  preserved  from 
desecration,  and  serve  as  a  landmark."  It  is  easy  to 
disparage  and  to  deny  anything.  It  has  been  shown 
that  the  Great  Chine.#e  Wall  is  a  myth,  that  the  Gulf 
Stream  is  a  myth.  If  some  one  should  demonstrate 
that  Plymouth  Rock  is  a  myth,  that  Bunker  Hill 
is  a  myth,  that  the  Pocky  Mountains  are  a  myth, 
it  need  not  shock  any  one.  Skeptics  have  demon- 
strated that  the  Bible  is  a  string  of  cradle  myths, 
but  it  is  filling  the  world  with  light  and  warmth  and 
goodness,  and  showing  its  Divine  origin  by  its  historic 
effects.  The  servants  of  the  Most  High  are  pressing 
into  every  land,  and  wherever  they  go  souls  are  won 
and  the  desert  blossoms  like  the  garden  of  the  Lord. 
The  men  who  are  in  this  work  are  confident  of  ulti- 
mate triumph.  Nothing  can  induce  them  to  accept 
any  other  service.  They  may  sow  in  tears,  but  they 
shall  reap  in  joy.  Failure  is  impossible,  for  the  mouth 
of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it. 

Bishop  Lightfoot  said  that  History  is  an  excellent 
cordial  for  drooping  courage.  We  sometimes  think 
the  Apostles  carried  everything  before  them.  This  is 
not  the  fact.  It  took  four  centuries  to  convert  the 
Empire;  it  took  a  thousand  years  more  to  convert 
Europe.  It  is  estimated  that  at  the  close  of  the  first 
century  there  were  500,000  Christians ;  Warneck  puts 
the  number  at  300,000.  It  took  two  centuries  to  con- 
vert England.  There  were  not  more  than  250,000 
Saxons  accessible  to  Augustine.  He  began  with  forty 
associates.     In  view  of  these  facts  it  ought  not  to  sur- 


88  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

prise  us  if  everything  has  not  been  done  in  fifty  or  in  a 
hundred  years.  The  talk  of  failure  has  been  heard 
from  the  first.  It  was  never  true.  There  is  less 
ground  for  such  talk  now  than  ever.  In  1879  Presi- 
dent Seelye  said:  "Never  before  has  the  gospel 
wrought  such  great  and  speedy  changes  as  during  the 
past  seven  years  in  Japan.  It  is  not  only  the  most 
remarkable  chapter  in  the  history  of  modern  missions, 
but  there  is  nothing  in  the  history  of  the  world  to 
compare  with  it.  We  talk  ab(^ut  the  early  triumphs 
of  Christianity,  but  the  early  records  of  the  church, 
bright  as  they  may  be,  pale  in  the  light  of  what  is  tak- 
ing place  before  our  eyes  at  the  present  time."  Pier- 
son  says:  "  Converts  multiply  and  churches  are  gath- 
ered in  the  most  discouraging  fields,  until  India 
becomes  a  starry  firmament  of  mission  stations ;  Tur- 
key is  planted  with  mission  crosses  from  the  Golden 
Horn  to  the  Tigris ;  Syria  sends  Arabic  Testaments  to 
the  bounds  of  the  Moslem  world ;  Japan  takes  giant 
strides  toward  a  Christian  civilization;  Polynesia's 
isles  lift  church  spires,  thousands  in  number,  toward 
the  sky;  Africa  is  crossed  with  a  chain  of  gospel  out- 
posts ;  and  even  Papal  lands  welcome  the  Bible  and 
the  Protestant  preacher."  The  testimony  of  those 
best  qualified  to  speak  is  that  so  far  from  having 
failed,  there  is  no  work  of  God  which  has  received  so 
absolute,  so  unprecedented  a  blessing.  It  is  not  nec- 
essary now  to  meet  the  old  cry,  "There  are  no 
results."  We  are  surprised,  not  at  the  scantiness  of 
the  results,  but  at  their  overwhelming  grandeur,  com- 
pared with  the  scantiness  of  the  efforts  which  have 
been  put  forth.  The  results  far  surpass  anything 
that  we  had  a  right  to  expect  even  in  our  wiklest 
dreams.  This  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and  it  is  marvelous 
in  our  eyes. 


MARTYRS. 
Miss  Sue  A.  Robinson  of  India. 

Mrs.  Josephine  W.  Smith  of  .Tupan. 

Mrs.  Caukie  Loos  Williams  of  Oliiua. 


V. 
THE  HEROISM  OF  MISSIONS. 

Men  that  have  hazarded  their  lives  for  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
—Acts  XV.  26. 

Missionaries  represent  the  heroic  element  in  Chris- 
tianity. The  prince  of  missionaries,  giving  a  cata- 
logue of  his  experiences,  said,  "Of  the  Jews  five 
times  received  I  forty  stripes  save  one.  Thrice  was  I 
beaten  with  rods,  once  was  I  stoned,  thrice  I  suffered 
shipwreck,  a  night  and  a  day  have  I  been  in  the  deep; 
in  journeyings  often,  in  perils  of  rivers,  in  perils  of 
rol)bers,  in  perils  from  my  countrymen,  in  perils  from 
the  Gentiles,  in  perils  in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the  wil- 
derness, in  perils  in  the  sea,  in  perils  among  false 
brethren;  in  labor  and  travail,  in  watchings  often,  in 
liunger  and  thirst,  in  fastings  often,  in  cold  and  na- 
kedness." Afterwards  he  sealed  his  testimony  with 
his  blood.  Many  of  those  who  caught  his  spirit  and 
carried  on  his  w^ork  have  had  similar  experiences. 
Boniface  was  slain  by  pagans  in  Friesland;  Adalbert 
and  Bruno  shared  the  same  fate  in  Prussia;  Raimund 
Lull  was  stoned  in  North  Africa;  John  AVilliams  was 
clubbed  to  death  and  eaten  in  Erromanga;  Bishop 
Ilannington  was  slain  by  the  savage  king  of  Uganda. 
Many  have  not  been  called  to  die  for  the  sake  of  the 
Name,  but  their  lives  have  been  quite  as  heroic  as 
those  who  have.  To  all  the  words  of  the  text  are 
applicable — "They  hazarded  their  lives  for  the  name 

of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."      I  am  to  speak  of  the 

(89) 


90  MISSIONARY    ADDRESSES. 

Heroism  of  j\Iissio)is.  I  shall  select  some  modern 
workers  in  the  missionary  field  to  illustrate  this 
theme. 

I.  Wheti  William  Carey  began  to  urge  that  it  was 
the  duty  of  the  church  to  attempt  to  send  the  gospel 
to  the  heathen,  he  was  laughed  to  scorn.  The  men 
that  ought  to  have  stood  by  him  and  encouraged  him, 
regarded  him  with  coldness  and  distrust.  They  said 
that  he  was  a  well-meaning,  but  a  weak-minded  broth- 
er. They  felt  it  to  be  their  duty  to  render  all  his 
plans  and  efforts  of  none  effect.  His  wife  thought 
he  was  going  to  India  on  a  fool's  errand,  and  declared 
that  she  would  never  consent  to  go  with  him.  The 
East  India  Company  looked  upon  him  as  a  dangerous 
man  and  refused  him  passage  in  any  of  their  ships. 
When  he  reached  India  in  spite  of  them  they  refused 
to  let  him  settle  in  any  part  of  the  country  under 
their  control.  When  he  turned  aside  and  settled  in 
Serampore  among  the  Danes,  the  Company  follovv^ed 
him  up,  and  tried  to  prevail  upon  the  Danes  to  expel 
him  out  of  their  coasts.  For  years  everything  seemed 
against  him.  He  had  to  contend  with  poverty,  fever, 
and  bereavement.  His  wife  was  insane  for  twelve 
years.  The  church  at  home  did  not  care  whether  he 
lived  or  died;  in  fact,  it  would  have  felt  relieved  if 
he  had  died.  He  was  obliged  to  labor  in  an  indigo 
factory  to  support  himself  and  family.  Through  all 
these  discouragements  he  did  not  bate  a  jot  of  heart 
or  hope,  but  still  bore  up  and  pressed  right  onward. 
Carey  Avas 

'  'One  who  never  turned  liis  back,  but  marched  breast  forward, 
Never  doubted  clouds  would  break, 
Never    dreamed,    tho'    right    were  worsted,  wrong  would 

triumph, 
Held  we  fall  to  rise ,  are  baffled  to  fight  better , 
Sleep  to  awake .  ' ' 

He  set  u})  a  printing  press  in  a  corner  of  the  fac- 


THE  HEROISM  OF  MISSIONS.  91 

tory.  The  natives  called  it  his  god.  When  he  was 
at  work  with  it,  they  thought  he  was  peforming  his 
devotions.  As  he  had  opportunity  he  went  out  and 
preached  through  the  cities  and  viUages.  After  seven 
years  of  toil  and  self-sacrifice  he  baptized  one  con- 
vert. This  one  was  soon  followed  by  others.  The 
special  work  to  which  he  gave  his  life  was  the  transla- 
tion of  the  Scriptures.  He  translated  the  word  of 
God,  in  whole  or  in  part,  into  forty  different  dialects. 
He  had  to  construct  his  own  grammars  and  lexicons. 
At  that  time  printing  was  unknown  in  Bengal.  After 
he  had  begun  to  make  good  progress  in  the  work  his 
printing  office  was  destroyed  by  fire.  Buildings,  type, 
paper,  press,  Sanscrit  and  other  translations  were 
consumed.  Fifty  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  property 
perished.  Though  cast  down  by  this  calamity,  he  did 
uot  give  up  in  despair.  He  went  to  work  again  and 
in  seven  months  his  translations  were  completed  a 
second  time.  While  serving  the  society  as  a  mission- 
ary, he  earned  in  the  employment  of  the  British  gov- 
ernment $200,000.  He  lived  on  a  dollar  a  week,  and 
sent  another  dollar  a  week  to  some  needy  relatives  at 
home;  the  rest  of  this  magnificent  sum  he  gave  to 
carry  on  the  work  of  the  mission.  Carey  was  not  a 
brilliant  man.  He  used  to  say,  "I  can  plod."  It  was 
his  unwearied  industry  that  accomplished  so  much. 
Towards  the  close  of  his  life  learned  societies  hon- 
ored themselves  in  admitting  him  to  membership. 
The  man  who  had  been  sneered  at  as  "a  consecrated 
cobbler"  was  recognized  as  a  great  scholar  and  a 
great  philanthropist. 

William  Carey  could  say  with  Paul,  "I  have  been 
crucified  with  Christ,  j'et  I  live;  and  yet  no  longer  I, 
but  Christ  liveth  in  me."  When  he  was  about  to  die, 
Alexander  Duff  arrived  fresh  from  the  Scottish  uni- 
versities.    The  young  student  called  on  the  aged  saint 


92  MISSIONARY    ADDRESSES. 

and  hero.      He  spoke  eloquently  to  the  dying  man  of 

all  that  he  had  done  in  India.      After  prayer  Carey 

called  Duff  to  him  and  said,   "You  have  been  talking 

about  Dr.  Carey  and  about  what  Dr.  Carey  did;    say 

nothing  more  about  Dr.  Carey,  but  talk  about  Dr. 

Carey's  Savior."     Self  was  ol)literated.     Rethought 

only  of  Christ   and   his   salvation.     He  gave   orders 

that  these  lines  should  be  Avritten  on  his  tomb : 

'  'A  wretched,  poor  and  helpless  worm, 
On  thy  kind  arms  I  fall.  ' ' 

II.  Robert  Morrison  was  the  first  Protestant  mis- 
sionary to  enter  China.  It  was  his  sense  of  duty  that 
made  him  a  missionary.  Duty  was  his  polestar.  He 
had  no  craving  for  a  life  of  ease  and  comfort.  His 
prayer  was  that  God  would  thrust  him  out  into  that 
part  of  the  field  where  the  difficulties  were  most  nu- 
merous, and  to  all  human  thought  most  insurmount- 
able. His  prayer  was- answered,  for  he  was  sent  to 
China.  On  the  voyage  the  ship-captain  asked  him  if 
he  really  expected  to  make  any  impression  on  the 
idolatry  of  China.  He  said,  "No;  but  I  expect  that 
God  will."  He  found  on  his  arrival  that  he  could 
not  preach  in  public.  He  became  a  clerk  in  a  mer- 
'  cantile  house,  and  afterwards  held  the  position  of  in- 
terpreter to  the  East  India  Company.  He  expended 
his  strength  in  translating  the  Scriptures  and  in  pre- 
paring a  dictionary  of  the  language.  His  translation 
was  done  in  secret.  It  was  in  a  deep  cellar  by  the  aid 
of  a  dim  lamp  that  he  gave  the  Word  of  God  to  the 
Chinese  in  their  own  tongue.  It  took  him  twelve 
years  to  complete  this  task.  "With  a  patience  that 
refused  to  be  conquered,  a  diligence  that  never  tired, 
a  caution  that  always  trembled,  and  studious  habits 
that  spontaneously  sought  retirement,"  he  did  the 
Lord's  work  in  that  strange  land.  For  years  he  had 
no  associate.      His  inspiration   was    this,    "It   is    my 


THE  HEROISM  OF  MISSIONS.  93 

duty."  Morrison  was  a  wise  master-builder,  and  laid 
the  foundation  upon  which  his  successors  have  built. 
He  lived  to  see  only  three  or  four  converts,  but  his 
faith  was  not  shaken.  In  his  last  letter  he  said,  "The 
Lord  rei^neth." 

HI.  Adoniram  Judson  was  highly  gifted  and  well 
educated.  He  might  have  remained  at  home  and 
lived  a  useful  life.  He  was  offered  the  pastorate  of 
one  of  the  largest  churches  in  Boston.  He  felt  that 
his  work  was  to  be  done  far  from  Boston,  and  declined 
the  tempting  offer.  On  his  way  to  India  he  began  to 
study  the  subject  of  baptism.  Carey  was  in  India, 
and  Carey  was  a  Baptist.  Judson  wanted  to  be  able 
to  convince  him  of  the  error  of  his  way  and  to  turn 
him  from  it.  But  before  he  reached  India  he  discov- 
ered that  he  himself  was  wrong,  and  that  Carey  was 
right.  What  was  he  to  do?  He  had  been  sent  out  by 
the  American  Board.  The  Baptists  at  that  time  had 
no  Society.  Judson  was  not  a  man  to  temporize  when 
he  saw  the  path  of  duty.  He  resolved  to  walk  in  it 
and  to  leave  the  results  with  God.  On  his  arrival  he 
was  baptized  by  Carey.  By  that  act  he  cut  himself  off 
from  the  Board  that  had  sent  him  out.  That  was  not 
the  end  of  his  troubles;  it  was  rather  the  beginning 
of  them.  He  was  not  allowed  to  settle  in  India.  The 
authorities  decided  that  he  and  his  associates  must 
return  to  England  in  a  fleet  about  to  sail.  As  they 
had  forfeited  all  claims  to  clemency,  they  must  go  as 
steerage  passengers.  Judson  got  by  stealth  to  the 
Isle  of  France,  and  from  the  Isle  of  France  to  Bur- 
mah.  He  preached  in  Rangoon  for  seven  years  with- 
out a  single  interested  hearer.  He  was  asked  by 
friends  at  home  as  to  the  prospect  of  success.  He 
replied,  "They  are  as  bright  as  the  promises  of  a  God 
that  cannot  lie."  When  urged  to  seek  a  more  fruit- 
ful field  he  said:     "  If  there  were  a  ship  in  the  harbor 


94  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

ready  to  bear  me  to  any  part  of  the  world,  and  I 
could  go  with  the  approbation  of  all  my  friends,  I 
would  rather  die  than  embark."  And  when  urged 
still  further  he  said:  "I  do  not  know  that  I  shall  live 
to  see  a  single  convert,  but  I  would  not  leave  my 
present  field  of  labor  to  be  made  king  of  the  greatest 
empire  on  the  globe."  On  the  lij-leaf  of  his  hymn- 
book  he  wrote: 

'  'In  joy  or  sorrow,  health  or  pain, 
Our  course  be  onward  still ; 
We  sow  on  Burmah's  barren  plain. 
We  reap  on  Zion's  hill. ' ' 

Hoping  to  increase  his  usefulness  he  removed  to  Ava.. 
While  there  he  was  suspected  of  being  a  spy  in  the 
employment  of  England.  He  was  arrested  and  cast 
into  the  death  prison,  where  he  wore  three  pairs  of 
fetters  for  nine  months,  and  five  pairs  for  two 
months,  and  one  pair  for  six  months.  At  night  his 
feet  were  fastened  together  and  a  baml)oo  pole  placed 
between  them  and  raised  several  feet  from  the 
ground.  His  shoulders  rested  on  the  floor,  while  his 
feet  were  high  in  the  air.  The  position  was  too  un- 
comfortable for  sleep,  but  not  sutficiently  uncomfort- 
able to  cause  death.  The  prison  abounded  in  filth 
and  vermin.  There  and  thus  he  lived  all  these  weary 
months.  He  was  in  perpetual  suspense.  Every  morn- 
ing he  heard  the  executioners  grinding  their  knives, 
and  then  saw  them  coming  in  to  select  their  next  vic- 
tim. He  did  not  know  but  he  might  be  selected  at 
any  time. 

Great  as  was  his  heroism,  that  of  his  wife  was  quite 
as  great.  Once  when  he  left  home  to  seek  a  place 
where  he  could  labor  to  better  advantage,  expecting 
to  be  gone  only  a  few  days,  he  was  detained  seven 
months.  She  remained  at  her  post  like  a  sentinel, 
though  she  did  not  know  whether    he    was  dead  or 


THE  HEROISM  OF  MISSIONS.  95 

alive.  Meanwhile  the  cholera  broke  out,  and  the 
other  members  of  the  mission  fled.  They  begged  her 
to  go  with  them,  but  she  declined.  She  said,  "He 
may  return,  and  if  he  does  he  will  be  disappointed  if 
he  does  not  find  me."  When  Mr.  Judson  was 
arrested  she  hid  his  translation  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, and  thereby  preserved  it  for  the  perishing  mill- 
ions of  Burmah.  She  went  to  the  prison  every  day, 
and  won  all  hearts  by  the  beauty  and  nobleness  of 
her  character.  Even  the  savage  jailers  respected  and 
revered  her.  The  prisoners  called  her  the  angel  of 
the  prison.  And  when  her  husband  was  sent  by  night 
to  Oung-pen-la,  she  followed  the  next  morning,  guid- 
ing her  course  by  the  bloody  footprints  in  the  sand. 
You  talk  of  Florence  Nightingale,  who  went  to  the 
Crimea  to  nurse  the  sick  and  the  djdng;  of  Grace 
Darling,  who  went  in  her  lifeboat  to  rescue  ship- 
wrecked mariners:  here  was  a  grander  heroine  than 
either.  Here  was  a  woman  worthy  to  stand  beside 
Queen  Esther.  Here  is  one  who  show^s  in  her  own 
life  "how  divine  a  thing  a  woman  may  be  made."  It 
was  largely  through  her  sympathy  and  assistance  that 
Judson  was  able  to  endure  all  so  bravely.  Only  once 
did  he  show  any  sign  of  weakness.  On  his  birthday 
she  made  a  pie  of  buffalo  beef  and  plantain.  This 
reminded  him  of  home,  of  its  freedom,  and  of  its  joys. 
His  feelings  overcame  him,  and  he  never  tasted  the 
pie.  At  all  other  times  he  was  strong  and  courageous. 
He  could  kiss  his  infant  child  through  the  prison 
bars.  He  could  endure  all  that  was  inflicted  upon 
him  for  Christ's  sake.  He  lived  to  see  of  the  travail 
of  his  soul  and  was  satisfied.  He  lived  to  say,  "1  eat 
the  rice  and  fruits  cultivated  by  Christian  hands,  look 
on  the  fields  of  Christians,  and  see  no  dwellings  but 
those  of  Christian  families."  When  he  visited  Amer- 
ica after  an  absence  of  thirty  years,  he  was  received 


96  MISSIONARY    ADDRESSES. 

as  a  conqueror.  The  world  delighted  to  do  him 
honor.  But  he  did  not  remain  long.  He  hastened 
back  to  his  beloved  Burmah. 

Some  friends  were  once  discussing  the  greatest 
pleasure  they  had  ever  experienced.  After  listening 
to  all  they  had  to  say,  he  said,  "  What  would  you 
think  of  floating  down  the  Irawaddy  on  a  calm,  moon- 
light evening,  with  your  wife  at  your  side,  and  your 
child  in  your  arms,  free,  all  free?  ^But  it  needs  twen- 
ty-one months  of  qualification  in  a  Burman  prison  to 
understand  what  that  means.  But  I  never  regret 
the  twenty-one  months  when  I  think  of  that  one 
delicious  thrill."  Judson's  name  is  immortal. 
Theodore  Parker  said  that  if  the  cause  of  missions 
had  done  no  more  than  produce  such  a  character  as 
that  of  Judson,  it  would  have  been  worth  all  it  cost. 
He  died  at  sea,  and  was  buried  in  the  ocean.  The 
Burman  church  is  his  imperishable  monument:  his 
record  is  in  the  Book  of  Life. 

IV.  In  his  w^ork  in  South  Africa  Robert  Moffat 
had  to  endure  privations  of  every  kind.  On  his 
arrival  he  could  find  no  one  to  teach  him  the  lan- 
guage. He  left  home  and  lived  for  months  among 
the  natives.  He  hunted,  he  ate,  he  drank,  he  slept 
with  them  till  he  mastered  their  language  sufficiently 
well  to  preach  to  them  in  it.  Referring  to  his  expe- 
riences among  the  natives,  he  used  to  say  that  "a  mis- 
sionary needed  a  strong  stomach  as  well  as  a  warm 
heart."  His  salary  was  only  one  hundred  and  twenty 
dollars  a  year.  He  had  to  provide  largely  for  his  own 
needs.  He  was  carpenter,  smith,  cooper,  tailor,  shoe- 
maker, miller,  baker,  and  almost  everything  else. 
The  people  whom  he  sought  to  benefit  annoyed  him 
constantly.  When  his  crop  was  ripe  they  carried  ofl 
a  great  part  of  it  in  open  day.  They  stole  his  sheep 
from  the  fold  at  night,  or  drove  them  while  grazing  in 


THE  HEROISM  OF  MISSIONS.  97 

the  day-time.  They  turned  aside  the  water  which  he 
had  brought  from  the  river  with  great  labor  to  irrigate 
his  fields.  No  tool  could  be  left  lying  about  for  a 
minute.  The  kitchen  utensils  were  taken  regularly 
to  church  to  prevent  the  natives  from  appropriating 
them  to  their  own  use.  The  pots  and  pans  were 
placed  on  the  pulpit  during  the  service.  The  pulpit 
served  as  a  pantry  for  the  time.  A  new  missionary 
thought  he  would  trust  the  natives  more  than  Moffat 
had  done.  He  left  some  meat  in  the  pot  while  the 
family  went  to  church.  On  his  return  he  found  the 
meat  gone  and  a  stone  in  its  place. — Mary  Moffat  had 
to  do  her  own  house-work.  It  was  difficult  to  get  a 
nurse  to  take  care  of  her  baby.  The  only  covering 
the  nurse  wished  to  wear  was  a  coat  of  grease  and 
paint.  It  was  an  act  of  condescension  to  wear  any- 
thing that  was  given  her.  When  she  was  offended 
she  would  hurl  the  baby  across  the  room  at  Mrs. 
Moffat's  head,  and  dart  away  muttering  words  of 
defiance. 

The  cleanliness  of  the  missionaries  was  a  source 
of  constant  amusement  to  the  natives.  They  would 
say,  "Your  customs  may  be  very  good  for  you, 
but  I  do  not  see  that  they  fill  the  stomach."  Dark- 
ness covered  the  land,  and  gross  darkness  the  peo- 
ple. They  were  utterly  brutish.  If  the  rain  failed 
and  the  country  was  burned  up,  the  blame  was  laid  at 
the  missionary's  door.  It  was  because  he  was  teach- 
ing strange  doctrines  among  them,  such  as  their 
fathers  never  knew.  The  rain-makers  foresaw  that 
their  craft  was  in  danger,  and  they  led  the  opposition. 
The  public  mind  was  averse  to  the  residence  of  a 
missionary  in  the  country.  In  a  time  of  severe  drought 
a  council  was  held  in  which  tlie  chief  decided  that 
Moffat  and  his  associates  should  leave.  The  mission- 
7 


98  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

aries  were  given  to  understand  that  violent  measures 
Avould  be  resorted  to  in  case  they  disobeyed  the  order. 
Moffat  told  them  that  they  had  felt  reluctant  to  leave, 
and  were  now  more  than  ever  resolved  to  abide  at 
their  post.  He  told  them  that  they  might  shed  their 
blood,  or  burn  them  out.  Baring  his  breast  to  them  he 
told  them  that  they  might  thrust  in  their  spears,  if  they 
wished;  he  would  not  leave.  The  chief  man  shook 
his  head  and  said  to  his  companions,  "These  men 
must  have  ten  lives,  when  they  are  so  fearless  of 
death."  Often  ho  listened  to  a  serenade  from  jackals 
and  hyenas.  But  Moffat  was  not  dismayed.  He  felt 
that  patient  continuance  in  well-doing  would  be  re- 
warded in  good  time.  He  felt  with  John  Eliot  that 
prayer  and  pains,  with  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  will 
accomplish  anything.  He  might  not  live  to  see  it, 
but  the  change  would  come.  He  said  once,  "  I  scarce- 
l}^  expect  to  see  tl^e  thick  gloom  dispelled  by  the 
Sun  of  righteousness,  but  I  feel  confident  it  will 
come,  because  all  the  promises  of  God  are  yea  and 
amen  in  Christ  Jesus."  For  eleven  years  he  labored 
amid  diiEculties  and  discouragements  of  every  kind, 
and  saw  no  spiritual  fruit.  Then  the  change  came. 
The  people  began  to  believe  his  message.  Their  songs 
and  dances  ceased.  Instead  were  heard  the  songs  of 
Zion  and  the  outpouring  of  the  soul  in  impassioned 
prayers.  Idleness  gave  place  to  industry.  The  once 
naked  and  filthy  savages  were  decently  clothed.  They 
built  comfortable  homes  and  cultivated  their  fields. 
The  success  far  exceeded  the  hopes  of  the  missionary. 
For  years  he  was  forced  to  say,  "  Who  hath  believed 
our  report,  and  to  whom  has  the  arm  of  the  Lord 
been  revealed?"  The  time  came  when  he  could  say, 
"  Here  am  I,  and  the  children  whom  thou  has  given, 
me,"  His  devoted  wife,  vv^riting  to  a  friend  at  home, 
said,    "You  can  hardly  conceive  how  I  feel  when  I  sit 


THE  HEROISM  OF  MISSIONS.  99 

in  the  house  of  God,  surrounded  with  the  natives. 
Though  my  situation  may  be  despicable  and  mean  in 
the  eyes  of  the  worhl,  I  feel  that  an  honor  has  been 
conferred  upon  me  which  the  kings  of  the  earth  could 
not  have  done  me.  I  am  happy,  remarkably  happy, 
though  the  present  place  of  my  habitation  is  a  single 
room,  with  a  mud  wall  and  a  mud  floor.""  These 
faithful  and  heroic  missionaries  labored  over  fifty 
years  for  the  redemption  of  Africa,  and  their  labors 
were  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord. 

V.  David  Livingstone  was  the  child  of  poor  and 
pious  parents.  When  a  lad  he  went  to  work  in  a  cot- 
ton factor3\  While  he  earned  his  wages  faithfully, 
he  had  a  book  on  the  spinning-jenny.  Though  he  had 
never  more  than  a  minute  at  a  time  he  used  those 
moments  in  gathering  stores  of  knowledge  which  he 
afterwards  turned  to  such  good  account.  With  a  part 
of  his  first  week's  wages  he  bought  a  Latin  grammar. 
He  went  to  night-school  from  eight  to  ten,  studied  at 
home  from  ten  to  twelve,  and  'was  at  his  place  in  the 
morning  at  six.  When  he  gave  himself  to  the  Lord 
he  felt  that  the  salvation  of  men  ought  to  be  his  chief 
concern.  He  resolved  to  give  all  his  earnings  to  the 
cause  of  missions  beyond  his  necessary  living  expenses. 
Soon  after  he  gave  himself.  His  heart  Avent  out  to  the 
lost  sheep  in  the  wilderness  for  whom  no  man  cared. 
It  was  the  claim  of  so  many  of  his  fellow-creatures 
that  led  him  to  volunteer.  He  became  the  associate, 
and  afterward  the  son-in-law,  of  Robert  Moffat.  He 
was  jack  of  all  trades,  and  his  wife  was  maid  of  all 
work.  When  he  undertook  to  build  a  house  he  had 
to  make  his  own  brick;  he  had  to  go  to  the  forest  and 
cut  his  own  timber.  He  was  as  destitute  of  every  con- 
venience as  Robinson  Crusoe.  He  said,  "  We  preach 
to  people  who  do  not  know  but  they  are  beasts,  who 
have  no  idea  of  God  as  a  personal  agent,  or  of  sin  ex- 


100  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

cept   as   an  offense  against  each  other."     His  great 
work  was  to  open  Africa  to  the  gospel  and  to  com- 
merce.    He  traveled  thousands  of  miles  among  wild 
beasts  and  among  still  more  savage  men.     His  motto 
was,  "Fear  God   and  work  hard."     No   difficulties 
could  arrest  or  dishearten  him.     Said  he,  "  I  encour- 
age myself  in  God,  and  go  forward."     To  the  Direct- 
ors of  the  Society  he  said,  "  I  am  ready  to  go  any 
where,  provided  it  is  forward."     When  his  wife  died 
he  said,  "  I  shall  continue  my  work,  though  it  is  with 
a  darkened  horizon  I  set  about  it."     Livingstone  was 
a  missionary  first  and  last  and  always.     He  said,  "  I 
will  place  no  value  on  anything  I  have  or  may  possess, 
except  in  relation  to  the  kingdom  of  Christ.     If  any 
thing  I  have  vrill  advance  the  interests  of  that  king- 
dom, it  shall  be  given  or  kept,  as  by  giving  or  keeping 
it  I  shall  most  promote  the  glory  of  Him  to  whom  I 
owe  all  my  hopes,  both  for  time  and  eternity."     On 
the  last  birthday  but  one  he  wrote  in  his  diary  these 
words,  "My  Jesus,  my  King,  my  life,  my  all,  I  again 
dedicate  my  whole  self  to  thee."     We  read  of  him 
that  he   was  often  lone  and  footsore  from  his  long 
journeys,  hungry  and  thirsty,  dreaming  of  feasts  with 
the  fever-dreams  of    starvation,  prostrated  by  pneu- 
monia and  African  fever,  suffering  excruciating  pain, 
his  cheeks  fallen  in,  his  mouth  almost  toothless  with 
eating  hard,  uncooked  maize,  his  constitution  ruined 
at  the  age  of  fifty-seven,  yet  nothing  could  cause  him 
to  give  up  the  work  he  had  in  hand.     He  would  make 
a  way  for  the  gospel,  though  he  should  make  it  like 
Winkelried,  by  burying  the  hostile  spears  in  his  own 
breast.     Once  he  had  an  encounter  with  a  lion  and 
barely  escaped  with  his  life.     He  was  shaken  by  the 
huge  brute  as  a  rat  by  a  terrier.     His  arm  was  crushed 
and  maimed  for  life.     It  was  by  the  marks  of   the 


THE  HEROISM  OF  MISSIONS.  101 

beast  in  his  flesh  that  his  body  was   identified  when 
brought  to  Enghmd  for  burial. 

When  Stanley  found  him  he  had  not  heard  from  the 
outside  world  for  two  years.  In  that  time  the  Franco- 
Prussian  war  had  been  fought  and  the  map  of  Europe 
changed.  Livingstone  knew  nothing  of  these  events. 
Stanley  wanted  him  to  accompany  him  home.  He 
felt  that  his  work  was  not  done,  and  he  could  not  go. 
When  his  strength  was  exhausted,  he  said  to  his  ser- 
vants, "Build  me  a  hut."  They  did  so.  He  retired 
for  the  night.  The  next  morning  they  found  him 
dead.  He  had  died  on  his  knees,  pouring  out  his  soul 
to  God  in  the  fervor  and  passion  of  prayer  for  that 
dark  land.  His  servants  were  so  impressed  with  his 
life  that  they  wrapped  his  body  in  leaves  and  covered 
it  with  pitch;  "  they  carried  it  on  their  shoulders  for 
six  months;  they  cut  their  way  through  impenetrable 
thickets;  they  fought  hostile  tribes;  they  swam  swol- 
len rivers;  and  at  last  a  remnant  of  the  number  stood 
at  the  door  of  the  Mission  House  in  Zanzibar  and 
said,  '  We  have  brought  the  man  of  God  to  be  buried 
among  his  people.'  "  He  was  taken  to  England  in  one 
of  her  battle-ships.  He  was  laid  to  rest  in  West- 
minster Abbey,  revered  and  lamented  by  the  whole 
civilized  world.  His  tomb  is  not  far  from  where 
rests  all  that  was  mortal  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton.  On 
it  ai"e  the  words,  almost  the  last  he  wrote,  "All  I 
can  say  in  my  solitude  is  this:  May  God's  richest 
blessing  come  down  on  every  one,  American,  English- 
men, Turk,  who  will  help  to  heal  this  open  sore  of  the 
world."  Livingstone  saw  no  mission  established 
and  no  souls  won  as  a  result  of  his  life  of  devotion; 
he  died  without  knowing  the  source  of  either  the 
Nile  or  the  Congo;  but,  like  Moses,  he  beheld  the 
promised  land  from  Pisgah.  He  never  doubted  as 
to   the   success   of   his    work.      His   heroic   life   and 


103  MIS3I0NA11Y  ADDRESSES. 

pathetic  death  have  borne  fruit  far  beyoad  what  even 
he  dared  to  anticipate.  David  Livingstone  was  the 
bravest  and  noblest  spirit  of  the  age  in  which  he 
lived.  At  one  time  Stanley  was  as  much  opposed  to 
missions  as  the  biggest  atheist  in  London.  After  he 
knew  Livingstone  his  desire  was  to  take  up  his  work 
of  redeeming  Africa  from  its  forlornness  and  squalid 
poverty,  initiating  true  missionary  enterprise. 

VI.  John  Coleridge  Patteson  was  born  to  honor  and 
affluence.  In  college  he  was  the  leader  in  all  athletic 
si^orts.  He  might  h;ive  spent  a  useful  and  happy  life 
among  his  friends  and  kindred.  He  turned  his  back 
upon  the  most  flattering  prospects  at  home,  and  went 
to  the  South  Sea  Islands.  This  brilliant  genius  gave 
his  life  to  Christianize  and  civilize  savages.  The  peo- 
ple had  a  great  many  different  dialects.  Some  one 
said  that  they  came  directly  from  the  Tower  of  Babel, 
and  had  been  multiplying  their  tongues  ever  since. 
Patteson  reduced  thirty  or  forty  to  a  written  form. 
He  took  a  number  of  boys  and  fed  and  clothed  and 
educated  them.  If  they  were  sick,  he  nursed  them; 
if  they  died,  he  buried  them  tenderly.  At  niglit  he 
rolled  up  his  coat  for  a  pillow  and  slept  among  his 
boys  as  sweetl}'  as  Jacob  did  at  Bethel.  In  seeking  to 
bring  again  the  outcast  and  to  save  the  lost,  his  life 
was  often  in  peril,  but  he  kept  right  on  with  his  work. 
His  times  were  in  God's  hand.  At  the  age  of  fifty- 
seven  he  was  killed  in  retaliation  for  some  young  men 
who  had  been  stolen  by  slave-traders.  These  slave- 
traders  made  a  yacht  like  his.  They  dressed  the  sail- 
ors like  clergymen.  They  placed  the  cross  at  the 
masthead.  They  visited  an  island,  and  by  signs  and 
presents  won  the  confidence  of  the  people.  They 
persuaded  some  of  the  young  men  to  go  on  board. 
When  they  did,  they  sailed  away  and  sold  their  cap- 
tives as  slaves.     Bishop  Patteson  soon  after  visited 


THE  HEROISM  OF  MISSIONS.  103 

the  same  island.  The  natives  suspected  that  he  was 
engaged  in  the  same  business.  They  drove  a  spear 
through  his  heart  for  every  boy  that  had  been  taken. 
On  the  spot  where  he  fell  there  now  stands  a  house  of 
Avorship.  The  very  men  that  did  this  evil  deed  are 
believers.  Max  Mliller,  speaking  of  Patteson,  said 
that  there  was  no  one  whose  memory  he  so  revered, 
there  w^as  no  one  by  whose  friendship  he  felt  so  hum- 
bled. "To  have  known  such  a  man  is  one  of  life's 
greatest  blessings.  In  his  life  of  purity,  unselfishness, 
and  devotion  to  man,  and  faith  in  a  higher  world, 
those  who  have  eyes  to  see  may  read  the  best,  the 
most  real  imitation  of  Christ."  Like  Judson,  Patte- 
son gave  his  entire  inheritance  to  the  cause  of  mis- 
sions. 

VII.  John  Hunt  was  the  Apostle  of  Fiji.  On  his 
arrival  he  found  that  two-thirds  of  the  children  born 
were  killed  in  infancy  to  save  their  parents  the  trou- 
ble of  rearing  them.  Every  village  had  an  officer 
whose  business  it  was  to  dispatch  the  innocents. 
Cannibalism  was  universal.  The  people  were  proud 
of  that  fact.  They  gloried  in  their  shame.  Dead 
bodies  were  given  to  children  to  hew  and  hack.  Moth- 
ers rubbed  human  flesh  over  the  lips  of  infants  to  cre- 
ate a  relish  for  blood.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing 
for  a  chief  to  select  his  best  wife  or  his  tenderest 
child  for  a  feast.  The  payment  of  a  tax,  the  burial 
of  the  dead,  the  building  of  a  canoe,  were  all  accom- 
panied with  a  cannibalistic  feast.  It  was  among  such 
savages  that  John  Hunt  was  called  to  labor.  It  is 
said  that  the  only  reason  that  he  was  not  killed  and 
cooked  and  eaten  was  that  he  was  so  poor  they  did  not 
think  his  bones  worth  the  trouble  of  picking  them. 
He  preached  Christ  to  them,  and  gave  them  the 
Scriptures  in  their  own  language.  At  the  London 
Missionary   Conference  James   Calvert   said:      "The 


104  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

Jubilee  of  the  mission  was  lately  held.  Fift}'  years 
previously  in  all  Fiji  there  was  not  a  single  Christian; 
now  there  is  not  an  avowed  heathen  left."  Canni- 
balism has  for  some  years  been  wholly  extinct,  and 
the  memorable  customs  of  barbarity  and  cruelty  have 
disappeared.  Behold,  what  hath  God  wrought!  In- 
stead of  the  briar  has  sprung  up  the  myrtle  tree;  and 
it  is  to  the  Lord  for  a  name,  an  everlasting  sign  that 
shall  not  be  cut  off. 

VIII.  The  record  of  John  Williams'  work  reads 
like  an  additional  chapter  to  the  book  of  Acts.  He 
could  not  content  himself  within  the  limits  of  a  sin- 
gle reef.  He  wanted  to  reach  every  island  that  was 
without  the  gospel.  He  gave  the  people  a  code  of 
laws;  he  introduced  trial  by  jury;  and  taught  them 
many  other  useful  things.  But  he  felt  that  nothing 
but  the  gospel  could  elevate  any  people.  The  spread 
of  the  gospel  was  his  main  work.  His  motto  was, 
"Try  and  trust.  You  know  not  what  you  can  or  can 
not  effect,  until  you  try;  and  if  you  make  your  trials 
in  the  exercise  of  trust  in  God,  mountains  of  imag- 
inary difficulties  will  vanish  as  you  approach  them, 
and  facilities  will  be  afforded  which  you  never  antici- 
pated." He  needed  a  ship  in  which  he  could  go  from 
one  group  to  another.  The  Society  being  unable  to 
buy  a  ship,  he  built  one.  It  was  a  great  undertaking, 
but  he  succeeded.  In  this  he  carried  the  gospel  to 
islands  two  thousand  miles  from  Tahiti.  His  work 
was  eminently  efficient.  Some  visitors  thought  the 
converts  were  parrots  repeating  what  they  had  been 
told  to  say.  After  a  most  searching  examination  last- 
ing for  several  hours  they  confessed  that  they  were 
mistaken.  Williams  found  the  people  ignorant  and 
superstitious  and  cruel.  Infanticide  was  so  prevalent 
that  he  never  found  a  mother  who  had  not  destroyed 
some  of  her  children,  and  frequently  as  many  as  from 


THE  HEROISM  OF  MISSIONS.  105 

five  to  ten.  Selecting  three  at  random,  he  asked  how 
many  they  had  destroyed.  The  first  said  nine;  the 
second,  seyeu;  the  third,. /lye.  Another  admitted  that 
she  had  destroyed  sixteen.  An  aged  chieftain  said, 
*'I  shall  die  childless,  although  I  have  been  the  father 
of  nineteen  children."  The  dark  places  of  the  earth 
are  full  of  the  habitations  of  cruelty.  Williams  fell, 
as  did  Patteson,  a  victim  of  the  slave  trade.  The 
man  that  killed  him  has  since  become  a  Christian  and 
surrendered  the  club  he  used. 

IX.  The  history  of  missions  abounds  in  illustra- 
tions of  heroism.  Henry  Martyn  used  to  say,  "Here 
am  I  alone,  with  no  one  to  say  I  wish  you  good  luck 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord."  He  wanted  to  complete 
his  translation  of  the  New  Testament  before  the  end 
came.  His  motto  was,  "Let  me  burn  out  for  God." 
Dying  at  thirty-four,  the  fragrance  of  his  life  has 
filled  the  world.  Sir  James  Stephen  speaks  of  him 
as  the  most  heroic  character  since  the  days  of  Queen 
Elizabeth.  Hannington  was  weakened  by  exposure, 
by  fever,  by  hunger;  he  was  a  subject  of  mockery,  a 
spectacle  for  derision;  but  his  courage  and  cheer  en- 
dured to  the  end.  The  day  before  he  was  murdered 
he  wrote  in  his  diary,  "A  hyena  howled  near  me  last 
night,  smelling  a  sick  man,  but  I  hope  it  is  not  to 
have  me  yet."  Amidst  the  horrors  of  his  prison  hut 
— the  wounds,  the  fever,  the  stench,  the  filth,  the 
brutal  clamor  of  his  jailers — more  than  conqueror; 
his  last  meditation  the  words,  "I  will  magnify  thee, 
O  Lord,  for  thou  hast  set  me  up,  and  hast  not  made 
my  foes  to  triumph  over  me."  When  Mackay  was 
leaving  for  Uganda  he  said  it  was  likely  that  some  of 
them  might  die  before  six  months.  He  might  be  the 
first  to  fall.  When  the  news  came  they  were  not  to 
be  cast  down,  but  send  so:ne  one  else  immediately  to 
take  his  place.     This  was  the   man  of  v/hom   it   was 


108  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

said  that  he  built,  cut  type,  translated,  printed,  en- 
gineered, navigated,  diplomatized,  denounced  evil, 
preached  the  gospel,  act^d  schoolmaster  and  doctor, 
befriended  Emin,  Junker  and  Stanley,  protected  the 
brave  Christian  boys,  and  won  a  church  in  the  wilder- 
ness, through  baptisms  of  blood  and  fire.  In  the  dark 
days  he  was  urged  to  give  up  the  missions.  Rewrote 
home,  "I  am  alone,  with  no  European  companionship, 
except  my  books  and  the  graves  of  my  departed  com- 
panions. What  a  suggestion;  to  give  up  the  mission! 
Are  you  joking?  If  you  tell  me  that  such  a  sugges- 
tion has  been  made,  I  can  only  answer,  Never!" 

The  savage  king  had  murdered  his  bishop,  burned 
his  pupils,  strangled  his  converts,  clubbed  his  dark 
friends  to  death,  and  then  turned  his  eye  on  him. 
Yet  he  went  on  with  his  work  bravely  and  uncom- 
plainingly. He  taught  his  little  flock  to  show  forth 
God's  loving  kindness  in  the  morning  and  his  faith- 
fulness every  night.  He  said,  "From  this  land  where 
Satan  is  supreme,  where  bloodshed  abounds,  where 
the  darkness  is  darkest,  there  comes  to  the  church  of 
Christ  the  call  to  dare  and  do."  The  London  Times 
said,  "No  such  story  of  heroism  has  ever  been  told 
in  our  day."  Golaz  and  his  young  wife  died  within  a 
year  after  reaching  Senegambia.  To  the  friend  that 
wiped  the  death-damp  from  his  brow  he  said,  "Tell 
the  church  not  to  be  discouraged  if  the  first  laborers 
fall  in  the  field.  Their  graves  ivill  mark  the  way  for 
their  successors,  who  will  march  past  them  with  great 
strides."  Young  McCall  spoke  in  the  same  strain: 
"Lord,  I  gave  myself,  body,  mind  and  soul  to  thee. 
I  consecrated  my  whole  life  and. being  to  thy  service, 
and  now,  if  it  please  thee  to  take  myself,  iiistead  of 
the  work  which  I  would  do  for  thee,  what  is  that  to 
me?  Thy  will  be  done."  Captain  Allen  Gardiner 
and  his  crew  perished  in  Patagonia.      They  starved 


THE  HEROISM  OF  MISSIONS.  107 

among  the  people  whom  they  sought  to  save.  la  his 
diary  or  ou  the  rocks  he  wrote :  '  'Poor  and  weak  as 
we  are,  our  boat  is  a  very  Bethel  to  our  souls,  for  we 
feel  and  know  that  God  is  here.  Asleep  or  awake,  I 
am,  beyond  the  power  of  expression,  happy." 
"Should  we  languish  and  die  here,  1  beseech  thee,  O 
Lord,  to  raise  up  others  and  send  forth  laborers  into 
the  harvest.'*  Over  the  i^lace  in  which  he  lay  down 
to  die,  he  wrote,  "My  soul,  wait  thou  upon  God,  for 
all  my  expectation  is  from  him!"  Friends  would 
persuade  Xavier  to  remain  at  home  because  of  the 
perils  in  the  way.     His  answer  put  into  verse,    runs: 

''Hush,  ye  1  close  your  dismal  story !       , 

What  to  nie  are  tempests  wild? 
Heroes  on  their  way  to  glory 

Mind  not  pastimes  for  a  child . 
Blow,  ye  winds,  North,  South,  East,  West! 

'Tis  for  souls  of  men  I'm  sailing. 
And  there's  calm  within  my  breast 

While  the  storm  is  round  me  wailing.  ' ' 

The  Jesuits  sent  out  men  and  women  as  brave  as 
those  that  made  that  famous  charge  at  Balaclava. 
Often  they  had  no  home  but  the  world,  no  bed  but 
the  ground,  no  food  but  what  Providence  sent  them 
day  by  day,  and  no  other  thought  but  to  do  and  suf- 
fer for  the  glory  of  Jesus  Christ  and  for  the  eternal 
happiness  of  those  who  believe  in  his  name.  The 
Indians  burnt  many  of  them  at  the  stake;  others  they 
carved  alive.  They  died  without  a  murmur. — In 
Greenland,  Labrador,  and  Sub-Arctic  Canada  there 
are  souls  as  heroic  as  any  of  these.  They  live  on  the 
same  food  as  their  dogs.  They  get  mail  once  or  twice 
a  3'ear.  Few  luxuries  reach  the  Mackenzie  River  or 
the  Athabasca  Lake.  These  workers  seldom  go 
home.  They  do  not  complain  of  their  hardships;  on 
the  contrary  they  glory  in  them.  Africa  has  been 
called  "The  Missionary's  grave."      The  Church  Mis- 


108  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

sionary  Society  in  twenty  years  sent  eighty-five  mis- 
sionaries to  Sierra  Leone.  In  that  period  fifty-four 
died  and  fourteen  returned  home  in  broken  health. 
Another  society  sent  out  eighty-six  in  twenty  years. 
Of  these  forty-two  died,  whilst  several  were  com- 
pelled to  return  on  account  of  the  failure  of  health. 
One  mission  lost  ninety-one  workers  in  forty-eight 
years.  Of  the  Comber  family,  six  laid  down  their 
lives  for  Africa.  "A  chain  of  graves  stretches  over 
the  land,  all  brightened  with  the  glow  of  consecrated 
lives  and  martyr  deaths,  telling  at  what  cost  the 
Church  of  Christ  has  gone  forth  to  the  redemption 
of  Africa." 

Canon  Taylor  and  others  speak  of  the  missionaries 
as  mercenaries,  as  hirelings,  and  not  heroes.  No 
sane  man  goes  out  because  of  the  pecuniary  compen- 
sation, or  because  missionary  life  is  a  picnic.  He 
goes  from  the  constraint  of  the  love  of  Christ.  The 
Quarterly  Revieio  says:  "Think  of  French,  the  seven- 
tongued  man  of  Lahore,  the  founder  of  half  a  dozen 
Indian  colleges,  working  sixteen  hours  a  day,  knows 
Arabic,  Urdu,  Persian,  Sanscrit,  Hindi,  refusing  to 
use  a  carriage  because  a  missionary  should  go  on  foot, 
and  then  after  forty  years'  labor  resigns  the  episco- 
pate and  starting  in  his  sixty-seventh  year  as  a  simple 
missionary  to  the  Mohammedans,  in  perhaps  the  most 
arduous  and  dangerous  post  that  could  be  found  on 
earth!  Think  of  Caldwells'  fifty-three  years  of  unre- 
mitting toil,  during  which  his  flock  increased  from 
6,000  to  100,000!  At  once  priest  and  leader,  teach- 
er and  organizer,  he  found  the  native  converts 
sneered  at  as  rice  Christians;  he  so  raised  them  that 
the  Director  of  Publication  in  Madras  declared  short- 
ly before  his  death  that  they  would  before  long  en- 
gross the  chief  professional  positions  in  South  India. 
The  careers  of   Ilorden  in  the   Hudson  Bay  Territory, 


THE  HEROISM  OF  MISSIONS.  109 

and  Bompas  in  Athabasca,  are  almost,  if  not  alto- 
gether, as  splendid.  Speaking  of  Paton,  Sehvyn  said, 
'  Talk  of  bravery!  Talk  of  heroism!  The  man  who 
leads  a  forlorn  hope  is  a  coward  in  comparison  with 
him  who  on  Tanna,  thus  alone,  without  a  sustaining 
look  or  cheering  word  from  one  of  his  own  race, 
regards  it  as  his  duty  to  hold  on  in  the  face  of  such 
dangers."  The  Moravians  in  Greenland  were  obliged 
to  eat  shellfish  and  seaweed  and  tallow  candles,  and 
were  thankful  when  they  could  got  some  trainoil  to 
mix  with  their  scanty  morsel  of  oatmeal.  Kane  was 
praised  for  enduring  hardships  not  worthy  to  be  com- 
pared with  these.  Hirelings,  are  they?  Our  Society 
has  men  in  its  employment  who  could  be  earning 
$10,000  a  year  at  home.  It  has  men  in  the  field  who 
receive  less  than  half  the  churches  would  be  glad  to 
pay  them.  Call  the  roll  of  missionaries,  beginning 
with  Paul  and  coming  down  to  our  own  day.  It  will 
be  seen  that  no  nobler  names  are  to  be  found  any- 
where. The  workers  on  the  mission  field  are  qualified 
to  fill  and  adorn  any  sphere.  They  ai-e  the  messen- 
gers of  the  churches;  they  are  the  glory  of  Christ. 
The  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Bengal,  Sir  Charles 
Elliott,  said,  "  I  for  one  should  feel  it  a  never-ceasing 
source  of  regret  if  I  lost  any  opportunity  of  express- 
ing the  admiration  which  I  feel  for  the  self-sacrificing 
and  devoted  lives  of  missionaries  spent  in  this  coun- 
try under  circumstances  of  much  trial  and  physical 
suffering,  actuated  by  no  hope  of  gain,  and  stimulated 
by  no  reward  from  men  —  such  lives  serve  as  a 
standard  and  example  which  all  of  us  would  wish  to 
follow." 

X.  These  -workers  were  unconscious  of  the  hero- 
ism and  grandeur  of  their  lives.  They  thought  only 
of  their  duty  to  Christ,  and  they  found  their  joy  in 
seeking  to  please   him.     They  are  doing  the  Lord's 


110  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

work,  and  they  have  entered  into  his  joy.  Carey  was 
known  as  "  the  cheerful  old  man."  He  said:  "  I  am 
perfectly  at  home  as  a  missionary,  and  rejoice  that 
God  has  given  me  this  honor,  that  I  should  }oreach 
among  the'  Gentiles  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ. 
If,  like  David,  I  am  only  an  instrument  for  gathering 
materials,  and  another  build  the  house,  I  trust  my  joy 
will  be  none  the  less."  When  his  son  entered  the 
service  of  the  government  he  said,  '•  Felix  has  dwin- 
dled into  an  ambassador."  Moffat  wished  that  he 
had  a  thousand  lives  and  a  thousand  bodies:  all  of 
them  would  be  devoted  to  no  other  employment  than 
that  of  preaching  the  gospel  to  those  who  have  never 
known  the  joyful  sound.  He  regretted  he  could  not 
be  put  into  that  fabled  machine  and  be  ground  out 
again  a  young  man.  On  one  occasion  a  child  asked 
him  to  write  in  her  album.     He  wrote  these  lines : 

'  'My^album  is  the  savage  breast, 
Where  passion  reigns  and  tempests  rest , 

Without  one  ray  of  light : 

To  write  the  name  of  Jesiis  there , 

To  point  to  worlds  both  bright  and  fair, 

And  see  the  savage  bow  in  prayer, 

Is  my  supreme  delight .  ' ' 

Livingstone  said,  "I  never  made  a  sacrifice."  He 
regarded  sickness,  anxiety,  danger,  suffering,  as  noth- 
ing compared  with  tlie  glory  that  shall  be  revealed  in 
us.  It  Avas  a  privilege,  rather.  His  work  gave  him  a 
consciousness  of  doing  good,  peace  of  mind,  and  a 
bright  hope  of  a  glorious  destiny  hereafter.  Patte- 
son  told  the  Society  not  to  send  out  any  one  who 
thought  he  was  making  a  great  sacrifice,  or  that  he 
was  condescending  in  going;  a  man  of  that  sort 
would  do  more  harm  than  good.  "  But  send  the  right 
man,  and  what  a  welcome  we  shall  give  him,  and  what 
joy  he  Avill  find  in  his  work!"  After  fifty  years  of 
unceasing  labor  in  India,  Schwartz  left  it  as  his  dying 


THE  HEROISM  OF  MISSIONS.  Ill 

testimoii}'  that  the  work  of  a  missionary  is  the  most 
honorable  and  blessed  service  in  which  any  human 
being  can  be  employed  in  this  world. 

XI.  What  heroism  are  we  showing  at  home?  The 
fields  need  men  and  women  of  character  and  capacity 
and  culture.  The  work  is  hard.  It  is  for  this  very 
reason  that  it  appeals  so  strongly  to  those  who  are 
young  and  chivalrous.  Carlyle  said:  "It  is  not  to 
taste  sweet  things,  but  to  do  noble  and  true  things, 
and  vindicate  himself  under  God's  heavens  as  a  God- 
made  man,  that  the  poorest  son  of  Adam  dimly 
longs.  They  wrong  man  greatly  who  say  he  is  to  be 
seduced  by  ease.  Difficulty,  abnegation,  martyrdom, 
death,  are  the  allurements  that  act  on  the  heart  of 
man.  Not  happiness,  but  something  higher."  Is  it 
not  so?  The  sokliers  of  Garibaldi  were  on  the  point 
of  mutiny.  They  detailed  to  him  their  losses  and 
helplessness,  and  asked,  "What  shall  we  have  if  we 
follow  you  further?"  The  answer  was,  "More  hun- 
ger, cold,  thirst,  wounds;  more  of  you  will  fall  in 
battle;  many  of  you  will  never  see  your  homes  again." 
The  brave  men  leaped  up,  "We  are  the  men  I  Lead 
us  on!"  The  mission  field  has  few  sugar-plums  to 
offer.  It  calls  for  heroes  and  heroines — men  and 
women  who  can  endure  hardness  as  good  soldiers  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

XII.  The  same  heroism  is  needed  in  those  who 
"tarry  by  the  stuff."  They  must  support  those  who 
go.  The  Lord's  work  needs  some  heroic  giving. 
There  are  instances  of  such  giving,  but  they  are  rare. 
One  teacher  in  Scotland  has  a  salary  of  one  thousand 
dollars.  She  lives  on  half  that,  and  Avith  the  other 
half  sustains  a  substitute  in  China.  If  all  the  Chris- 
tians in  the  world  would  give  one  cent  a  day  each, 
their  gifts  would  exceed  one  hundred  million  dollars. 
That  is  nearly  ten  times  as  much  as  they  do  give. 


113  MISSIONARY   ADDRESSES. 

Who  shall  say  that  one  cent  a  day  on  an  average  is 
too  much  to  give?  We  talk  about  our  sacrifices;  it  is 
doubtful  if  one  Christian  in  ten  thousand  ever  made 
a  sacrifice  for  this  work.  We  give  our  cheese-parings ; 
we  give  our  pork  rinds;  we  give  the  crumbs  that  fall 
from  our  table;  we  give  what  we  never  feel.  Who 
dare  say  that  such  giving  is  worthy  to  be  called  a  sac- 
rifice? The  State  of  Ohio  pays  ten  times  as  much  in 
a  year  for  drink  as  the  whole  world  pays  for  missions. 
Are  the  drinking  people  of  Ohio  ten  times  as  rich  as 
all  Christendom?  By  no  manner  of  means.  There  is 
a  community- of  418  souls  in  the  Black  Forest  who 
support  twenty  of  their  own  sons  and  daughters  in 
the  field.  If  we  gave  in  proportion,  there  would  be  a 
superabundance  in  the  Lord's  treasury.  What  is 
needed  is  that  all  believers  everywhere  should  make 
the  work  of  missions  the  one  work  to  which  they  shall 
consecrate  their  lives  and  their  all.  If  we  shall  do 
this,  the  Scripture  will  soon  be  fulfilled: 

'  'They  shall  see,  to  whom  no  tidings  of  Him  came, 
And  they  that  have  not  heard  shall  understand.  ' ' 


WORKERS   IN  TURKEY  AND   SCANDINAVIA.* 

Dr.  a.  HoT.rK,  Copenhagen,  Denmark. 
G.  N.  Shishmanian,  Constantinople,  Turkey.      Dr.  Garahkd  Kkvorkian,  Marsivan,  Turkey. 
Me.  and  Mrs.  Filian,  Workers  in  Turkey. 
*See  Appendix  for  a  brief  account  of  eacli  worker. 


VI. 

THE  TRANSFOEMING  P0^^T:R  OF  THE 
GOSPEL. 

I  AM  not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ;  for  it  is  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth;  to  the  Jew  first,  and  also  to  the  Greek. 
Bom.  i.  16. 

The  word  translated  "  power  "  is  the  Greek  word 
for  "  dynamite."  The  Spirit  declares  that  the  gospel 
is  God's  dynamite.  History  confirms  the  statement 
that  it  is  able  to  save  every  one  that  believes.  Thus 
far  no  soul  has  been  found  so  dark  and  so  brutish  that 
the  gospel  could  not  enlighten  and  ennoble  and  make 
make  him  worthy  to  be  a  partaker  of  the  inherit- 
ance of  the  saints  in  light.  This  is  the  truth  I  wish 
to  illustrate. 

I.  Let  us  consider  some  of  the  triumphs  won  by 
the  gospel  in  the  most  difficult  fields.  Canon  Kings- 
ley  thought  the  people  of  Africa  could  not  take  in  the 
gospel;  he  spoke  of  them  as  poor  brutes  in  human 
shape,  and  felt  that  they  must  perish  off  the  face  of 
the  earth  like  brute  beasts.  The  Portuguese  regarded 
the  Hottentots  as  a  race  of  apes,  and  wrote  over  their 
church  doors:  "  Dogs  and  Hottentots  not  admitted." 
The  Zulu  sold  his  children  for  cattle.  He  slept  iu  a 
kraal  that  was  but  little  better  than  a  dog  kennel.  In 
the  morning  he  crept  out  to  stay  his  hunger  by  living 
like  a  jackal,  on  the  leavings  of  the  lion,  or  by  feed- 
ing like  the  vulture  on  carrion.  The  Kaffir  made  his 
mother  carry  burdens  like  a  packhorse,  and  dig  in  the 

ground  like  a  slave.     When  she  was  worn  out   with 
8  (113) 


114  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

age  and  work  he  exposed  her  to  be  devoured  by  wild 
beasts.  There  are  now  over  700  ordained  missionaries 
and  7,500  ordained  and  unordained  native  preachers 
in  Africa,  with  800,000  adherents  to  Christianity 
under  their  care.  The  Kaffirs  have  not  only  received 
the  truth,  but  have  organized  a  society  to  carry  it  into 
the  regions  beyond.  The  Kaffir  cares  for  his  mother 
in  her  old  age  as  she  cared  for  him  in  his  infancy. 
The  Zulu  lives  in  a  framed  house,  wears  garments  of 
cloth,  supports  schools  and  churches,  and  is  ready  to 
take  his  place  in  the  forward  march  of  nations.  Dr. 
Prichard  said:  "It  is  indeed  surprising,  after  all 
that  we  have  heard  of  the  sloth  and  brutal  sensuality 
of  the  Hottentots,  to  learn  that  no  other  uncivilized 
race  has  given  a  more  willing  ear  to  the  preaching  of 
Christianity,  and  that  none  has  been  more  strikingly 
and  splendidly  impressed  by  its  reception."  Moffat 
tells  us  of  Africaner.  He  was  outlawed;  a  price 
Avas  offered  for  his  head.  He  was  an  incarnate  fiend, 
disposed  to  murder  the  missionary  that  he  might 
make  a  drum-head  out  of  his  skin  and  a  drinking  cup 
of  his  skull.  When  his  conversion  was  reported  no 
one  was  prepared  to  credit  it.  It  was  said:  "  There 
are  seven  \vonders  in  the  world;  this  would  be  the 
eighth."  When  the  fact  was  demonstrated  it  was 
spoken  of  as  a  miracle  of  grace  and  power.  This 
man,  who  had  been  a  firebrand,  spreading  discord, 
enmity  and  war  among  neighboring  tribes,  became 
an  advocate  of  peace  and  goodwill,  a  helper  in  the 
mission,  a  winner  of  souls.  Stanley  tells  us  that 
many  Christians  in  Uganda  endured  the  most  deadly 
persecution — the  stake  and  the  fire,  the  cord  and  the 
club,  the  sharp  knife  and  the  ritle  bullet.  Staunch 
in  their  belief,  firm  in  their  convictions,  they  have 
held  together  stoutly  and  resolutely.  No  one  ac- 
quainted with  Bishop  Crowther's  character  and  ser- 


THE  POWER  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  115 

vice  would  say  with  Kingsley  that  the  African  is  only 
a  poor  brute  and  must  perish  like  a  brute  beast. — 
Henry  Martyn  said:  "If  ever  I  see  a  Hindu  converted 
to  Jesus  Christ,  I  shall  see  something  more  nearly  ap- 
proaching the  resurrection  of  a  dead  body  than  any- 
thing I  have  ever  yet  seen."  That  was  at  the  beginning 
of  the  century.  In  our  day  a  native  paper  says: 
"We  daily  see  Hindus  of  every  caste  becoming  Chris- 
tians and  devoted  missionaries  of  the  Cross."  Sir 
Edwin  Arnold  was  asked  respecting  the  prospect  of 
India's  conversion  to  Christ.  He  said:  "You  might 
as  well  try  to  sweeten  the  Atlantic  Ocean  by  pouring 
cologne  water  into  it."  To  a  traveler  who  looks  at 
the  surface  only,  and  who  has  no  conception  of  the 
mighty  power  of  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God,  the 
task  may  seem  hopeless.  But  it  is  not  so  in  fact. 
The  testimony  of  Sir  Herbert  Edwardes  is  this: 
"Every  other  faith  in  India  is  decaying;  Christianity 
alone  is  beginning  to  run  its  course.  It  has  taken 
root,  and  by  God's  grace  will  never  be  uprooted. 
The  converts  were  tested  by  persecution  and  martyr- 
dom; they  stood  the  test  without  apostasy."  Schwartz 
labored  in  Southern  India  forty  years,  and  left  10,000 
converts  behind  him.  At  Ongole  in  ten  days  8,691 
were  baptized.  In  Tinnevelly,  after  twenty  years  of 
preparatory  toil,  in  seven  months  more  than  16,000 
placed  themselves  under  instruction  with  a  view  to 
Christian  baptism.  The  rate  of  increase  from  1851 
to  1861  was  fifty-three  per  cent;  from  1861  to  1871, 
it  was  sixty-one  per  cent;  from  1871  to  1881,  it  was 
eighty-six  per  cent.  There  are  not  less  than  600,000 
Protestant  Christians  in  India,  Burmah,  and  Ceylon. 
The  natives  of  Borneo  used  to  be  called  head-hunt- 
ers. Their  delight  was  in  head-taking,  and  their  con- 
stant aim  was  to  strike  off  the  heads  of  their  real  or 
supposed  enemies.      In   many  provinces  no  one  was 


116  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

allowed  to  marry  who  could  not  show  a  certain  num- 
ber of  heads  which  he  had  recently  struck  off.  Since 
missionaries  have  been  at  work  in  Borneo,  there  has 
been  a  great  change  among  them.  Their  war-shields 
have  been  used  up  as  playthings  for  the  children ;  the 
deadly  weapon  which  'could  easily  cut  off  a  man's 
head  at  a  single  sweep  has  become  a  rusty  heirloom; 
and  their  immense  war  boats  have  fallen  to  pieces. 
An  American  traveler  says:  "Nowhere  in  the  world, 
so  far  as  I  know,  are  life  and  property  so  secure  and 
sacred  as  among  the  once  fierce  head-hunters  of  Sara- 
wak. I  have  been  robbed  by  white  men  in  the  United 
States,  by  black  men  in  the  Indies,  East  and  West, 
by  red  men  in  South  America,  and  by  yellow  men  in 
the  far  East,  but  among  the  Dyaks,  with  no  protection 
to  either  person  or  property,  I  never  lost  a  pin's  worth 
by  theft.  Had  they  been  like  the  Negroes  of  Barba- 
does,  or  the  Mexicans  of  the  Rio  Grande,  they  could 
have  stripped  me  of  all  my  movables  with  perfect 
safety  to  themselves.  But  their  honesty  afforded  my 
property  more  impregnable  security  than  the  average 
bank  vault  does  here." 

A  century  ago  the  people  of  the  South  Seas  were 
the  most  degraded  on  earth.  Darkness  covered  the 
lands  and  gross  darkness  the  people.  In  some  places 
when  a  child  was  born,  a  priest  "was  sent  to  pray  that 
he  might  grow  up  to  be  a  murderer,  a  liar,  a  thief,  a 
libertine,  glorying  in  the  commission  of  every  crime. 
A  man  was  accounted  honorable  in  proportion  to  the 
number  of  men  he  had  killed  for  cannibal  feasts. 
When  James  Calvert  arrived  in  Fiji  his  first  duty  was 
to  bury  the  hands,  arms,  feet,  and  heads  of  eighty  vic- 
tims whose  bodies  had  been  roasted  and  eaten.  He 
lived  to  see  these  very  cannibals  gather  round  the 
table  of  the  Lord.  Thakombau,  the  king  of  Fiji, 
told  John  Hunt   that  white  men  made  good  eating; 


THE  POWER  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  117 

they  taste  like  ripe  bananas.  This  man  was  among  the 
converts.  In  the  presence  of  widows  whose  husbands 
he  had  slain;  sisters  whose  brothers  had  been  stran- 
gled by  his  orders ;  relatives  whose  friends  he  had 
eaten,  he  confessed,  saying  with  a  broken  voice  and 
tears:  "I  have  been  a  bad  man,  I  have  disturbed  the 
community,  I  have  scourged  the  world."  He  became 
a  faithful,  gentle,  intelligent  and  devout  Christian. 
He  was  a  new  man,  and  called  himself  such  by  a  new 
name,  "Ebenezer."  He  lived  for  twenty-nine.  3'ears 
respected  and  loved  by  all  who  knew  him.  Out  of  a 
population  of  120,000,  102,000  are  regular  worshipers 
in  the  churches.  In  every  family  there  is  a  prayer 
every  night  and  morning.  The  first  sound  that  greets 
the  ear  at  dawn  and  the  last  sound  heard  at  night  is 
that  of  hymns  sung  at  family  worship.  The  Fijis  en- 
gage in  missions.  When  some  volunteers  for  New 
Guinea  were  told  that  they  were  going  to  death  among 
cannibals,  the  class-room  rang  with  the  noble  re- 
sponse: "Talk  not  to  us  about  cannibals;  they  are 
men;  and  they  need  that  which  has  brought  us  life." 
Mr.  Paton  found  the  people  of  the  New  Hebrides 
painted  savages;  they  were  ignorant,  vicious,  and 
bigoted.  Seeing  a  heap  of  human  bones,  he  asked: 
"What  are  these?"  They  calmly  replied:  "We  do 
not  eat  the  bones."  There  was  no  sense  of  security  of 
either  life  or  property.  When  the  people  went  to 
church  they  carried  a  brood  of  fowls  or  a  litter  of 
pigs  with  them.  The  preaching  was  interrupted  by 
the  squealing  of  the  pigs,  or  the  barking  of  the  pups, 
or  the  chirruping  of  the  chickens.  There  were  wars 
and  rumors  of  wars  among  the  tribes.  Under  the 
gospel  14,000  cannibals  confessed  their  faith  in  the 
Christ.  On  the  island  where  Mr.  Paton  labored,  the 
whole  i>opulation  turned  from  dumb  idols  to  serve  the 
living  God.     The  chief  said:     "We  are  men  of  Christ 


118  MISSIONARY    ADDRESSES. 

now.  We  must  prevent  or  punish  murder  and  other 
crimes  among  our  people,"  Ever}' convert  is  in  some 
sense  a  missionary. 

The  natives  of  New  Zealand  taught  their  children 
to  be  cruel,  warlike,  dishonest.  Pebbles  were  thrust 
down  their  throats  to  make  their  hearts  hard.  The 
Maoris  tortured  or  made  slaves  of  captives  taken  in 
war,  or  killed  and  ate  them.  Marsden  brought  the 
gospel  to  them.  Now  cannibalism  is  unknown, 
heathenism  is  almost  extinct,  and  such  a  state  of  so- 
cial progress  attained  that  Karl  Ritter  was  led  to  call 
it  the  standing  miracle  of  the  age.  Darwin  tells  what 
he  saw:  "The  house  had  been  built,  the  windows 
framed,  the  fields  plowed,  and  even  the  trees  grafted 
by  the  New  Zealander."  He  thought  it  admirable, 
and  spoke  of  "the  lesson  of  the  missionary  as  the 
enchanter's  wand."  Twenty-five  years  ago  the  dwell- 
ers in  New  Guinea  were  the  fiercest  of  savages.  They 
delighted  in  bloody  deeds.  Each  man  had  a  tattoo 
mark  on  his  back  and  chest,  like  a  medal  of  honor, 
for  every  person  he  had  slain,  and  he  was  proud  of  it. 
War  was  perpetual.  Probal)ly  no  other  mission  can 
show  such  good  results  as  this.  A  stranger  is  as  safe 
in  New  Guinea  as  in  Boston  or  New  York. 

The  first  missionaries  to  the  Sandwich  Islands 
found  the  people  living  in  the  surf  and  in  the  sand, 
eating  raw  fish,  fighting  among  themselves,  tyran- 
nized over  by  feudal  chiefs,  abandoned  to  sensual- 
ity, and  offering  human  sacrifices.  Some  years 
ago  M.  D.  Conway  visited  Honolulu.  He  expected  to 
witness  merry  scenes,  islanders  swimming  around  the 
ship  in  Arcadian  innocence,  and  the  joyous  song  and 
dance  of  the  guileless  children  of  the  sun.  Instead 
he  found  a  silent  city,  paralyzed  by  piety.  Never  in 
Scotland  or  Connecticut  had  he  seen  such  a  paralysis 
as  fell  upon  that   city  on  Sunday.      He  had  to  go  to 


THE  POWER  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  119 

church  to  see  the  people.  When  the  work  began  it 
was  thought  it  would  take  a  thousand  years  to  uplift 
and  to  ennoble  these  people.  At  the  jubilee  celebra- 
tion the  motto  emblazoned  everj'where  was,  "Right- 
eousness exalteth  a  nation."  Not  less  than  seventy- 
five  islanders  have  gone  out  as  missionaries,  and  the 
island  church  has  contributed  $170,000  to  supply  thcui 
in  their  work.  It  is  about  seventy-five  j'ears  since  the 
work  began  in  Polynesia.  In  that  time  750,000  have 
been  won  to  the  faith.  A  band  of  not  less  than  one 
hundred  and  sixty  young  men  and  women  have  gone 
out  from  Tahiti  to  carry  the  gospel  to  the  islands  yet 
in  darkness,  that  the  Scriptures  may  be  fulfilled, 
*'They  shall  see  to  whom  no  tidings  of  Him  came, 
and  they  that  have  not  heard  shall  understand." 

Dr.  March  speaks  of  the  Japanese  as  reduced  in 
stature  and  weakened  in  body  by  their  low  and  wast- 
ing vices.  They  are  the  most  dissolute  people  on 
earth.  They  have  no  pity  for  suffering,  no  gentleness 
for  the  feeble,  no  tenderness  for  children.  They  are 
reckless  of  life,  and  build  monuments  to  murderers; 
their  punishments  are  too  horrible  to  be  described. 
Under  the  influence  of  the  gospel  Japan  has  pro- 
claimed a  constitution;  has  given  the  right  of  suf- 
frage to  the  people ;  has  built  railroads  and  schools  and 
universities;  has  started  newspapers;  has  established 
banks,  postoffice,  mint,  lines  of  steamships;  in  a 
word,  has  introduced  western  civilization.  Her  lead- 
ing men  believe  that  the  gospel  is  the  greatest  power 
in  the  universe  for  lifting  up  decayed  nations  and  for 
giving  life  and  hope  to  millions  long  wandering  in 
darkness.  Dr.  March  says  they  have  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  Christianity  has  quickened  mind, 
stimulated  invention,  increased  power,  multiplied 
riches,  advanced  science,  improved  education,  intensi- 
fied   effort,    awakened   hope   and   high    expectation, 


120  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

among  all  western  nations.  Aback  of  steamships, 
telegraphs,  railways,  telephones,  aback  of  all  inven- 
tions in  the  arts,  all  discoveries  of  science,  all  advance 
in  civilization,  they  see  Christianity.  They  are  ready 
to  give  up  their  despotic  government,  their  gross  idol- 
atry, their  popular  traditions  and  sacred  customs,  and 
even  their  national  language,  if  they  can  only  get  the 
power,  the  jirogress,  the  grand  advance,  and  the  great 
hope  which  the  gospel  gives  to  all  who  receive  its 
word  and  walk  in  its  light. 

General  Sherman  said:  "The  only  good  Indian  is 
a  dead  Indian."  Our  nation  has  spent  five  hundred 
million  dollars  in  Indian  wars.  In  one  war  it  cost  a 
million  dollars  and  the  lives  of  twenty-five  men  to 
kill  one  Indian.  If  a  tithe  of  this  vast  sura  had  been 
spent  in  seeking  to  evangelize  them,  the  results  would 
be  more  gratifying.  The  Indian  can  be  reached  and 
regenerated.  Ninety  thousand  have  been  won  and 
are  now  living  lives  that  adorn  the  doctrine  of  God 
their  Savior.  The  reason  that  more  has  not  been 
done  is  that  the  nation  has  not  kept  faith  with  the 
Indian.  The  government  records,  speaking  of  what 
has  been  done  among  the  Indians,  say:  "The  sav- 
ages have  been  changed.  How  was  the  transforma- 
tion wrought?  When  the  government  wholly  failed, 
the  voluntary  efforts  of  the  churches  have  been 
crowned  with  success.  The  preaching  of  the  gospel 
has  done  the  work,  and  it  alone."  When  some  In- 
dians at  Washington  asked  for  some  of  the  good  med- 
icine that  had  made  the  whites  so  rich  and  strong. 
General  Howard  held  up  a  Bible  and  said:  "This  is 
the  good  medicine  that  has  done  all  for  us;  it  will  do 
as  much  for  you." 

Christlieb  has  shown  that  there  is  no  people  so  spir- 
itually dead  that  the  gospel  can  not  quicken  them  in- 
to new  life.      There  is  no  language  so  barbarous  that 


THE  POWER  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  121 

the  Scriptures  cannot  be  translated  into  it.  There  is 
no  race  that  can  not  hear  and  respond  to  the  voice  of 
the  good  Shepherd.  There  are  no  more  continents  and 
islands  to  be  discovered.  From  Greenland  to  Tierra  del 
Fuego  the  povverof  the  gospel  has  been  tested  among 
people  of  every  tongue  and  tribe,  and  of  every  grade  of 
civilization.  No  people  more  degraded  and  imbruted 
cat!  be  found.  Tlie  lowest  races  have  been  reached. 
No  greater  obstacles  can  be  encountered  than  have 
been  overcome.  The  gospel  has  shown  itself  suffi- 
cient in  every  case.  It  has  scored  its  triumphs  on 
every  field.  It  has  proved  in  a  new  and  large  sense 
the  truth  of  the  proverb:  "Man's  extremity  is  God's 
opportunity."  The  gospel  that  in  the  first  century 
vanquished  the  bigotry  of  Jerusalem,  the  idolatry  of 
Antioch  and  Athens,  the  licentiousness  of  Cyprus 
and  Corinth,  the  barbarism  of  Lystra  and  Malta,  the 
magic  of  Ephesus,  the  prowess  of  Rome,  and  won 
triumphs  in  every  place,  from  the  prison  in  Philippi  to 
Ciesar's  household;  that  gospel  has  lost  none  of  its 
divine  power,  and  can  poiiit  to  more  splendid  victo- 
ries in  the  nineteenth  century  than  in  the  first  even. 
It  has  won  men  of  all  religions  and  of  no  religion.  It 
has  won  fetich  worshipers  in  Africa,  devil-worshipers 
in  Ceylon,  polytheists  in  China,  pantheists  in  India, 
the  civilized  Japanese  and  the  degraded  Papuan.  It 
preaches  truths  that  wake  to  perish  never.  No  faith 
or  race  can  long  withstand  its  majestic  and  continu- 
ous march.  The  gospel  is  all-sufficient  to  save  the 
believer,  whether  he  have  the  genius  and  culture  of 
Newton  and  Pascal  and  Gladstone,  or  whether  he  is 
as  low  in  the  scale  as  Africaner,  Thakombau  and 
Poinare.  The  gospel  found  the  early  Saxons  as  low 
in  the  scale  of  morals  as  the  Hottentots.  It  made 
them  decent,  and  moral,  and  enterprising;  it  made 
them  the  great  people  they  are  to-day.    A  gospel  that 


122  MISSIONARY    ADDRESSES. 

could  save  the    Anglo-Saxons  can  save  any  people, 
however  degraded  and  demonized  they  may  be. 

//.  Let  me  call  attention  to  some  other  views  that 
have  been  held  on  this  subject.  Some  think  we  must 
civilize  first  and  Christianize  afterwards.  The  Church 
of  Scotland  thought  it  absurd  to  send  the  gospel  to 
heathen  and  barbarous  peoples.  Stanley  thinks  the 
way  to  elevate  Africa  is  to  give  her  people  the  arts 
and  comforts  of  civilized  life,  and  thus  beget  a  desire 
for  something  better  than  they  now  possess.  War- 
burton  thought  Romish  and  Protestant  missions  had 
failed  of  the  largest  results  because  they  attempted  to 
Christianize  before  civilizing.  This  view  was  held  by 
nearly  all,  but  it  is  a  reversal  of  the  divine  order,  and 
experience  shows  that  it  does  not  work  well.  It  is 
only  as  the  nature  is  renewed  that  people  desire  any 
improvement  in  other  directions.  Thus,  when  the 
government  of  Canada  provided  houses  and  clothing 
and  food  for  the  Chippeways,  hoping  thus  to  lead 
them  to  exert  themselves  to  perpetuate  these  coui- 
forts,  it  was  found  that  they  preferred  their  wigwams 
and  skins,  their  raw  flesh  and  filth,  to  the  cleanliness 
and  comforts  of  a  civilized  home.  The  Friends  be- 
gan with  the  Indians  by  trying  to  civilize  them,  but 
after  many  years  of  laborious  and  costly  effort,  they 
confessed  that  their  course  was  a  mistaken  one,  for 
they  could  not  point  to  a  single  individual  who  had 
been  brought  to  a  full  adoption  of  Christianity.  The 
Moravians  made  the  same  mistake  in  Greenland;  and 
it  was  not  until  they  changed  their  course  that  they 
made  any  impression  upon  the  natives.  Marsden  said 
at  first:  "Civilization  must  work  in  preparing  for 
conversion.  Trade,  manufactures  and  arts  prepare 
the  way  for  the  introduction  of  the  gospel."  The 
theory  was  false.  The  experiment  was  a  failure.  Not 
a  single  conversion  was  reported.     After  twenty  years 


THE  POWER  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  123 

he  said:  "  Civilization  is  not  necessary  before  Chris- 
tianity. We  may  give  both  simultaneously  if  we  will, 
but  it  will  always  be  found  that  civilization  follows 
Christianity."  Sir  Bartle  Frere  said:  "Civilization 
can  not  precede  Christianity.  The  only  successful 
way  of  dealing  with  all  races  is  to  teach  them  the  gos- 
pel in  the  simplest  manner  possible."  In  New  South 
Wales  the  government  spent  $400,000  in  trying  to  bet- 
ter the  condition  of  the  natives,  but  the  experiment 
was  a  complete  failure.  They  received  their  allow- 
ances of  brandy  and  tobacco  regularly,  but  no  one  was 
helped  thereby.  The  French  tried  to  persuade  some 
Arabs  to  live  in  houses  built  for  them.  A  little  while 
after  a  chief  was  asked  about  his  house.  "I  am  de- 
lighted with  it.  The  French  are  a  wonderful  people. 
They  have  done  me  a  service  for  which  I  shall  always 
be  grateful.  Since  my  house  has  been  finished  I  have 
not  lost  a  single  sheep.  I  lock  them  in  my  house 
every  evening,  and  the  next  morning  there  is  never 
one  missing."  "Where  do  you  stay?"  "A  man  of 
blood  like  me  could  live  nowhere  but  in  a  tent." 
James  C  Bryant,  of  South  Africa  said:  "  To  think  of 
civ^ilizing  the  heathen  without  converting  them  is 
about  as  wise  as  to  think  of  transforming  swine  into 
lambs  merely  by  washing  and  putting  on  them  a  fleece 
of  wool."  Colenso  attempted  to  civilize  without 
Christianizing.  He  took  twelve  Zulu  lads  into  his 
service  for  a  time.  He  made  no  effort  to  bias  their 
religious  faith.  When  their  time  expired  he  gave 
them  some  good  counsel.  The  next  day  they  were 
gone.  They  left  their  European  clothes  behind  as 
they  went  back  to  barbarism.  Colenso  went  over  to 
the  American  mission,  laid  a  note  for  fiftj'  pounds  on 
the  treasurer's  desk  and  said:  "You  were  right;  I 
was  wrong."  Captain  Cook  took  a  South  Sea  Islander 
to  London.     On  his  return  a  home  was  ])uilt  for  him. 


124  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

a  garden  planted,  presents  were  made  of  horses  and 
goats,  of  gunpowder,  balls,  muskets,  swords,  an  elec- 
tric machine,  a  barrel  organ,  and  all  sorts  of  toys  and 
gewgaws.  What  was  the  result?  As  soon  as  the  ships 
Avere  gone  he  abandoned  his  clothing.  He  was  the 
king's  friend  and  must  often  shoot  a  man  to  show  how 
far  his  musket  would  carry  or  how  quickly  his  pistol 
would  kill.  He  lived  in  idleness  and  profligacy.  A 
New  Zealand  chief  was  taken  to  London  to  be  civil- 
ized. The  first  thing  he  did  on  his  return  after  a 
battle  in  which  he  was  victorious  was  to  tear  out  and 
to  swallow  the  right  eye  of  his  slain  enemy  and  to 
bite  into  his  still  fluttering  heart.  Moffat  spent  sixty 
years  in  Africa.  It  was  his  conviction  that  evangel- 
ization must  precede  civilization.  He  said  that  noth- 
ing less  than  divine  grace  can  change  the  hearts  of 
savages,  after  which  the  mind  is  susceptible  of  those 
instructions  ^vhich  teach  them  to  adorn  the  gospel  in 
their  attire  as  well  as  in  their*  spirit  and  actions. 
John  Williams  said:  "I  am  convinced  that  the  first 
step  toward  the  promotion  of  a  nation's  temporal 
and  social  elevation  is  to  plant  among  them  the  tree 
of  life,  when  civilization  and  commerce  will  entwine 
their  tendrils  around  its  trunk,  and  derive  support 
from  its  strength.  Until  a  people  are  brought  under 
the  influence  of  religion,  they  have  no  desire  for  the 
arts  and  usages  of  civilized  life;  but  that  invariably 
creates  it."  James  Chalmers  said:  "  I  have  seen  the 
semi-civilized  and  the  uncivilized;  I  have  lived  with 
the  Christian  native,  and  I  have  lived,  dined,  and 
slept  with  the  cannibal.  But  I  have  nev^er  .yet  met 
with  a  single  man  or  woman,  or  with  a  single  people, 
that  your  civilization  without  Christianity  has  civil- 
ized. For  God's  sake  let  it  ha  done  at  once.  Gos- 
pel and  com;neree — but  remember  this,  it  must  be  the 
gospel  first.     Wherever  there   has  been  the  slightest 


THE  POWER  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  125 

spark  of  civilization  in  the  South  Seas,  it  has  been 
where  the  gospel  has  been  preached.  Civilization, — 
the  rampart  can  only  be  stormed  by  those  who  carry 
the  Cross."  President  Angell  said  of  China  that  it 
will  not  receive  our  locomotives  and  telegraphs  until 
it  has  bowed  the  knee  to  Christ.  It  is  a  mistake  to 
suppose  that  people,  however  degraded  and  demoral- 
ized, have  no  religious  capacity.  Their  minds  may  be 
darkened  by  ignorance  and  superstition,  but  they  are 
God's  children  still,  and  they  can  hear  and  obey  the 
gospel.  There  is  no  evidence  of  a  single  tribe  being 
elevated  by  the  arts  and  comforts  of  civilization. 
Civilization  Avithout  the  gospel  is  profitless  and  worse 
than  profitless. 

Some  think  that  heathen  people  can  be  elevated  by 
intercourse  with  Christian  nations.  But  who  does 
not  know  that  nations  are  not  always  actuated  by  the 
highest  motives.  England  forced  opium  upon  China. 
No  greater  national  crime  was  ever  committed.  The 
history  of  our  own  nation's  dealings  with  the  Indians 
is  not  more  creditable.  The  history  of  these  dealings 
is  found  in  a  book  entitled  "A  Centurj' of  Dishonor." 
This  is  not  a  libel  or  a  lampoon,  but  a  true  record  of 
shameful  facts.  The  writer  shows  hovv  treaties  have 
been  made  and  broken,  how  the  whites  have  en- 
croached upon  their  reservations,  and  how  they  have 
been  compelled  to  move  from  place  to  place.  Gen- 
eral Grant  said  that  "many,  if  not  most,  of  our  Indian 
wars  originated  in  broken  promises  and  wrongs  in- 
flicted by  us."  What  the  Indian  has  seen  of  the 
white  man  has  not  given  him  a  very  exalted  concep- 
tion of  Christian  civilization.  Our  treatment  of  the 
Chinese  has  been  no  better.  They  came  here  at 
our  urgent  invitation.  They  came  under  the  shield 
of  a  treaty.  They  heard  that  this  was  an  asylum  for 
the  oppressed  of  all  lands,  that  every  man  had  an  in- 


126  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

destructible  right  to  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness.  They  have  been  insulted  and  plundered 
and  murdered  without  redress.  It  was  said:  "Wo 
must  seize  these  cunning  brutes  by  the  throats.  We 
must  throttle  them  till  their  hearts  cease  to  beat,  and 
then  throw  them  into  the  sea."  What  opinion  will 
the  400,000,000  whom  they  represent  have  of  our 
so-called  Christian  nation?  What  have  they  seen 
to  induce  them  to  renounce  Confucius  and  Buddha 
and  accept  Jesus  as  Lord?  Is  it  strange  that  the  Chi- 
nese thought  of  sending  missionaries  to  the  United 
States  to  humanize  and  civilize  the  people? — The  last 
Tasmanian  died  in  1876.  That  people  perished  be- 
fore the  vices  and  barbarity  of  the  whites.  They 
were  shot  down  like  wild  beasts.  Regular  hunts  were 
undertaken  against  them.  A  convict  told  a  native 
if  he  would  lire  a  gun  into  his  ear,  he  would  have  a 
pleasant  sensation.  He  did  so,  and  died.  An  officer 
amused  himself  by  firing  cartridges  among  peaceful 
natives.  An  Englishman  made  a  savage  woman  carry 
her  husband's  head  around  her  neck  as  an  ornament, 
he  having  first  diverted  himself  by  the  murder.  One 
form  of  amusement  was  to  catch  a  native  and  fasten 
him  to  a  tree  as  a  target,  to  fire  at  him.  In  the  South 
Seas  the  measles  were  introduced  with  the  hope  that 
they  would  cause  many  to  perish.  The  victims 
plunged  into  the  sea  seeking  relief,  and  found  it 
almost  instant  death.  Others  dug  holes  in  the 
ground  and  lay  down,  finding  the  cool  earth  agreeable 
to  their  fevered  skins;  many  died  and  were  buried 
where  thej'  lay.  The  cry  has  been  heard  everywhere: 
"Clear  the  ground  of  the  red,  yellow,  brown,  and 
black  vermin,  that  the  whites  may  take  possession." 
The  Anglo-Saxon  land-hunger  has  led  to  the  commis- 
sion of  the  gravest  crimes.  It  is  not  before  our  civil- 
ization but  before  our  barbarism  that  the  aboriginal 


THE  POWER  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  127 

races  are  disappearing.  Attila  and  his  Huns,  Gen- 
seric  and  his  Vandals,  Gengis  Khan  and  his  Mongols 
have  not  done  worse  than  the  Christian  nations  of  our 
day.  What  is  true  of  England  and  America  is  true  of 
Spain,  Holland,  Portugal,  and  France.  The  Maori, 
the  Hottentot,  the  Zulu,  the  Red  Indian,  and  the 
Aztec  will  rise  up  in  the  judgment  and  condemn  the 
strong  nations  that  debauched  and  destroyed  them. 

Some  think  that  this  can  be  done  by  commerce. 
They  think  that,  by  introducing  the  comforts  and 
conveniences  of  Christendom  among  them,  they  can 
implant  a  desire  for  improvement  in  every  other 
respect.  Experience  shows  that  commerce  does  not 
regenerate.  A  missionary  in  South  Africa  said :  "  But 
for  the  British  rum  trade,  I  am  confident  that  long 
before  this  the  church  in  this  place  would  be  num- 
bered by  hundreds  and  not  by  tens."  Missionaries 
find  this  traffic  a  lion  in  their  path,  a  millstone  around 
the  neck  of  their  work.  A  Scotch  elder  sent  out  a 
shipload  of  rum  to  Africa,  and  gave  one  missionary  a 
free  passage.  The  amount  of  liquor  sold  is  enormous. 
The  figures  seem  exaggerated,  but  they  are  not. 
The  first  letter  in  English  from  the  Congo  to  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  read  thus:  "The  hum- 
blest of  your  servants  kisses  the  hem  of  your  garment, 
and  begs  you  to  send  to  his  fellow-servants  more  gos- 
pel and  less  rum."  The  slave  trade  is  carried  on 
extensively  in  Africa  and  in  the  South  Seas.  It  is 
estimated  that  32,000,000  were  brought  across  the 
Atlantic  since  the  time  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  Probably 
as  many  more  were  sold  into  Arabia  and  Turkey. 
The  natives  are  suspicious  of  the  white  men.  They 
think  they  are  all  engaged  in  the  same  business. 
Cameron  and  Livingstone  found  tribes  living  in  con- 
stant dread.  Their  greatest  obstacles  in  crossing 
Africa  arose  from  the  work  of  slave  dealers.     They 


128  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

escaped  more  than  once  only  with  their  lives.  In  the 
South  Seas  Williams  and  Patteson  suifered  martyr- 
dom because  of  this  trade.  In  the  Sandwich  Islands 
the  greatest  hindrances  to  the  work  came  from  the 
crews  of  English  and  American  ships.  They  became 
furious  against  the  men  who  had  checked  their  lusts. 
They  threatened  to  burn  the  house  and  take  the  life 
of  one  man,  because  he  refused  to  use  his  influence  to 
have  the  laws  against  prostitution  repealed.  They 
declared  their  purpose  to  bathe  their  hands  in  the 
blood  of  every  man  who  had  anything  to  do  with  this 
measure.  They  raised  the  black  flag,  and,  had  it  not 
been  for  the  energetic  interference  of  the  natives, 
would  have  executed  their  threats.  Seamen  in  South 
Africa  hire  ebony  wives  for  the  week,  or  month,  or 
trip.  If  the  world  is  not  redeemed  until  it  is 
redeemed  by  commerce,  it  will  never  be  redeemed. 
Traders  are  more  likely  to  inoculate  the  natives  with 
their  vices  than  with  their  virtues.  Their  influence  in 
many  cases  is  like  that  of  a  sirocco  from  the  lake  that 
burnetii  with  fire  and  brimstone.  They  take  advan- 
tage of  their  ignorance  and  helplessness  to  rob,  to 
outrage,  and  to  kill.  They  treat  them  as  hyenas  and 
baboons.  As  a  rule,  the  men  who  go  to  a  heathen 
country  to  buy  and  sell  and  get  gain,  are  not  noted  for 
their  piety.  It  used  to  be  said  that  men  going  to 
India  left  their  religion  at  the  Cape  on  the  way  out, 
and  forgot  to  take  it  up  on  the  way  back.  A  Japanese 
said  of  such:  "Their  conduct  is  a  scandal  to  the 
name  of  Christ.  They  are  the  slaves  of  Mammon; 
they  are  addicted  to  sensualism  and  profanity;  they 
insult  the  natives,  jeer  apd  maltreat  them,  and  con- 
duct themselves  as  loftily  as  if  each  one  of  them  was 
a  Julius  Caesar."  The  trader  is  everywhere;  but  it  is 
not  by  firearms  and  firewater,  or  by  any  other  articles 
of  merchandise,  that  the  world  is  to  be  redeemed. 


THE  POWER  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  139 

Our  Lord  knew  what  was  in  man.  Ho  said:  "Go 
ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  the 
whole  creation." 

Others  think  it  can  be  done  by  education.  But  no 
people  was  ever  saved  by  knowledge.  Education  does 
not  purify  the  heart.  A  German  Avriter  says  that 
times  of  high  culture  are  always  times  of  deep  immo- 
rality. No  amount  of  information  can  renew  the  soul 
into  the  image  of  its  Creator.  Egypt,  Greece  and 
Eome  had  knowledge,  but  when  they  knew  most  they 
were  given  over  to  the  most  shameless  profligacy. 
They  had  the  arts  and  sciences;  they  had  poets  and 
philosophers  and  orators;  they  had  sculptors  and 
painters  and  architects;  they  had  great  schools  and 
famous  teachers;  but  they  held  human  life  in  con- 
tempt, had  small  respect  for  chastity,  were  ferocious 
beyond  savages.  They  ran  into  every  excess  of  riot; 
they  did  things  wortliy  of  death,  and  gloried  in  their 
shame.  We  see  the  same  thing  during  the  French 
Revolution.  The  most  scholarly  men  and  women 
found  their  highest  pleasure  in  the  most  abominable 
sensualities  and  in  deeds  of  murder.  These  same 
persons  sought  always  to  display  their  mental  cultiva- 
tion in  the  most  splendid  manner  in  public  and  in 
social  life.  When  a  poor,  insane  wretch  was  to  be 
torn  in  pieces  by  horses,  they  expended  all  their  pity 
on  the  noble  horses  that  had  so  much  trouble  in  tear- 
ing their  victim  asunder,  and  had  no  syinpathy  with 
the  man  thus  torn.  The  fact  is,  no  people  have  ever 
been  lifted  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  plane  by  the 
enlightenment  and  enlargement  of  their  intellectual 
powers.  They  may  know  everything,  may  be  able  to 
solve  all  mysteries,  but  if  they  do  not  love  the  law  of 
God  because  it  is  good  they  will  not  observe  it. 
Moreover,  education  itself  depends  upon  the  moral 
impulse.     Seelye  says  it  is  only  as  men  become  better 


130  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

morally  that  they  can  become  intellectually  elevatetl 
and  enlarged.  Education  follows  a  moral  improve- 
ment as  the  flowers  follow  the  sunlight,  but  education 
is  as  powerless  to  secure  improvement  as  is  a  plant  to 
secure  the  light  and  warmth  by  which  it  is  quickened. 
Knowledge  is  power,  but  no  amount  of  knowledge 
can  do  for  the  race  that  which  it  most  needs.  It  may 
make  the  outward  life  more  seemly;  it  does  not  create 
a  clean  heart  and  renew  a  right  spirit. 

To  the  Jew  the  gospel  was  a  stumbling-block,  to 
the  Greek  it  was  foolishness;  iu  reality  it  was  the  wis- 
dom of  God  and  the  power  of  God.  On  no  field  has 
it  been  preached  in  vaia.  For  as  the  rain  and  snow 
come  down  from  heaven  and  return  not  thither,  but 
water  the  earth  that  it  may  bring  forth  and  bud,  and 
give  seed  to  the  sower  and  bread  to  the  eater:  so  has 
it  been  with  the  word  of  God:  it  has  not  returned 
unto  him  void.  To  many,  sending  the  gospel  to  the 
heathen  is  like  pouring  cologne  water  into  the  sea. 
When  Peter  stood  up  on  Pentecost  it  seemed  as  if  lie 
was  trying  to  sweeten  the  ocean.  Society  was  never 
more  corrupt.  The  first  chapter  of  Romans  gives  a:i 
account  of  that  age.  Paul  is  confirmed  by  Juvenal, 
Seneca,  and  Horace.  The  priests  could  not  look  one 
another  in  the  face  without  laughing.  The  govern- 
ment was  an  absolutism. 

On  that  hard  pagan  world ,  disgust 

And  secret  loathing  fell ; 
Deep  weariness  and  sated  lust 

Made  human  life  a  hell. 

The  orthodox  Jews  were  full  of  rottenness  and  all 
uncleanness.  They  put  the  Prince  of  life  to  death 
on  a  false  charge  sustained  by  perjured  testimony. 
The  task  seemed  hopeless;  but  it  was  not  so.  The 
gospel  made  its  way  in  spite  of  everything.  In  a  sin- 
gle generation  it  was  bearing  fruit  in  all  parts  of  the 
empire.     The  temples  were   deserted,  the   fires    had 


THE  POWER  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  131 

gone  out  on  the  altars.  The  gods  found  few  wor- 
shipers. The  old  faiths  were  swept  into  limbo.  A 
Christian  writer  said:  "We  are  but  of  yesterday, 
and,  lo!  we  fill  the  whole  empire — ^}'our  cities,  your 
islands,  your  fortresses,  your  municipalities,  your 
councils,  nay,  even  the  camp,  the  sections,  the  j^alace, 
the  senate,  the  forum;  the  temples  only  are  left  to 
you."  In  a  little  while  the  temples  were  cleansed 
and  used  as  churches.  Historians  from  TertuUian 
and  Justin  Martyr  to  Gibbon  and  Milman  speak  of  its 
triumphs  until  it  placed  its  standard  upon  the  ruins 
of  the  Capitol.  Pouring  cologne  water  into  the  sea 
did  avail:  its  waters  were  sweetened. — When  Paul 
crossed  the  Hellespont  in  response  to  the  man  of 
Macedonia,  and  began  to  preach  in  Europe,  it  seemed 
that  he  was  engaged  in  an  impossible  enterprise. 
The  people  were  as  degraded  as  the  tribes  of  Central 
Africa.  The  Germans  worshiped  Woden  and  Thor. 
Beyond  them  were  the  furious  Goths  and  fiery  Huns. 
The  Britons  were  Druids,  and  offered  human  sacri- 
fices. In  time  Europe  was  won,  not  by  commerce, 
nor  by  knowledge,  nor  by  national  intercourse,  but  by 
the  gospel  of  the  glory  of  the  Christ.  Our  Lord 
understood  human  nature;  he  knew  that  the  gospel 
can  uplift  and  ennoble  it,  no  matter  how  low  it  has 
fallen  and  how  degraded  it  has  become.  He  said  to 
his  disciples,  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach 
it."  "  The  fiery  tongues  of  Pentecost  their  symbols 
were,  that  they  should  preach  in  every  form  of  human 
speech,  from  continent  to  continent." — When  William 
Carey  began  his  work  in  India  he  seemed  to  be  pour- 
ing cologne  water  into  the  sea.  The  East  India  Com- 
pany regarded  him  as  a  lunatic  enthusiast.  The  people 
were  proud  of  their  history,  and  listened  to  his  mes- 
sage with  scorn.  But  his  labor  was  not  in  vain  in  the 
Lord.     The  fires  of  suttee  have  been  put  out;  infan- 


133  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

ticide  has  been  made  a  crime;  the  exposure  of  the 
sick  and  dying  prohibited;  Juggernaat's  car  has  be- 
come a  curiosity;  schools,  colleges,  hospitals,  asylums, 
orphanages  are  found  in  all  parts  of  the  land;  a  half 
million  souls  have  accepted  Christ  as  their  Savior  and 
Lord.  When  the  Sepoy  mutiny  broke  out,  the  Com- 
pany said:  "Now  we  will  get  rid  of  the  saints." 
But  no;  the  saints  got  rid  of  them,  and  for  thirty 
years  the  Company  has  been  as  dead  as  Queen  Anne. 
When  Carey  arrived  he  was  not  allowed  to  settle  un- 
der the  English  flag;  when  he  died  that  flag  was  low- 
ered to  half-mast  in  his  honor. — India  is  turning  her 
face  to  Christ,  and  opening  ear  and  heart  to  receive 
his  message.  India  has  333,000,000  gods,  but  India's 
supreme  need  is  the  need  of  the  Christ  who  is  mighty 
and  eager  to  save.  China  worships  the  dragon.  She 
pays  tribute  to  the  spirits  of  water  and  air.  China 
needs  Christ  to  bid  these  evil  spirits  depart,  and  to 
fill  her  marts  and  her  homes  with  prosperity  and 
righteousness  and  peace.  Africa  is  stretching  out 
lame  hands  towards  Grod.  This  is  her  deepest  need, 
her  divinest  hunger.  That  continent  where  Abraham 
found  food  in  time  of  famine,  where  Moses  was  res- 
cued and  trained  for  his  work,  where  Cyprian,  and 
Origen,  and  Athanasius,  and  Augustine  contended  for 
the  faith  once  for  all  delivered  to  the  saints,  needs 
Christ  to  dispel  her  darkness,  and  to  give  her  the 
light  of  life.  The  gospel  is  all-sufficient  and  alone 
sufficient.  We  have  it.  We  hold  it  in  trust  for  those 
who  have  it  not.  Shall  we  keep  it  to  ourselves,  and 
allow  them  to  perish  in  ignorance  and  wickedness,  or 
shall  we  sound  it  out  and  guide  their  feet  into  the 
way  of  peace?  May  God  open  our  eyes  to  see  our 
duty,  and  dispose  our  hearts  to  aid  to  the  fullest 
extent  of  our  ability  in  this,  the  grandest  of  all  enter- 
prises, the  evangelization  of  the  whole  world. 


OrFICERS   OF   THE   CHRISTIAN  WOMAN'S  BOARD   OF  MISSIONS. 

Mrs.  O.  A.  Burgess,  Presidpnt. 
Miss  Lois  A.  White,  Corresponding  .Secretary.  Mks.  J.  H.  Ford,  Ass't  Cor.  Secretary. 

Mrs.  J.  C.  Black,  Supt.  of  Children's  Work.  Mrs.  S.  F.  Gray,  Recording  Secretary. 

Miss  Mary  J.  Judson,  Treasurer. 


VII. 
WOMAN  AND  THE  GOSPEL. 

The  Lord  giveth  the  word:  the  women  that  publish  the  tidings  are  a  great 
host. — Psa.  Ixviii.  11. 

Speaking  of  Buddhism,  Brahmanism  and  Moham- 
medanism, Mrs.  Bishop  states  that  they  degrade 
women  Avith  an  infinite  degradation.  In  the  zenanas 
and  harems  she  saw  women  twenty  or  thirty  years  of 
age  whose  intellects  were  so  dwarfed  that  they  seemed 
like  children  of  eight,  while  all  the  worst  passions — 
jealousy,  envy  and  murderous  hate — were  stimulated 
and  developed  to  a  fearful  degree.  The  degradation 
of  women  is  a  characteristic  of  the  false  faiths. 
Christianity  is  the  only  system  that  gives  her  her 
rightful  place  in  society.  The  gospel  has  laid  the  ax 
at  the  root  of  the  evils  and  abuses  that  have  crushed 
out  her  life.  It  has  made  provision  for  the  improve- 
ment of  her  mental  and  moral  faculties,  and  has 
opened  up  before  her  the  same  avenues  to  usefulness 
and  enjoyment  as  to  man.  In  Christ  there  is  neither 
male  nor  female.  Both  stand  on  the  same  plane  as 
respects  privileges  and  obligations.  One  of  the  early 
objections  urged  against  Christianity  was  that  it  ex- 
alted woman  to  such  a  commanding  position.  Libani- 
us,  the  teacher  of  Chrysostom,  said,  "What  women 
these  Christians  have!  "  I  am  to  speak  of  Woman 
and  the  Gospel. 

I.    Let  us  consider  what  she  has  done  for  the  far- 

tlierance  of  the  gospel.     We  know  from  the  New  Tes- 

(188) 


134  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

tament  that  many  of  those  who  believed  on  Jesus  and 
helped  him  and  his  work  w^ere  women.  Anna,  a 
prophetess,  like  Simeon,  was  looking  for  the  consola- 
tion of  Israel.  When  the  holy  Child  was  presented 
in  the  temple  she  gave  thanks  to  God  and  spoke  of 
him  to  all  them  that  were  looking  for  the  redemption 
of  Jerusalem.  We  read  of  certain  women  who  fol- 
lowed him  and  ministered  unto  him.  The  woman  to 
whom  he  spake  at  Jacob's  well  believed  herself,  and 
then  ran  away  into  the  city  and  said  to  the  people, 
"  Come,  see  a  man  who  told  me  all  things  that  ever  I 
did:  can  this  be  the  Christ?  "  She  w^as  an  evangelist 
to  the  men  of  Sychar.  Many  of  the  Samaritans  be- 
lieved on  him  because  of  the  word  of  the  woman  who 
testified,  "He  told  me  all  things  that  ever  I  did." 
Once  when  he  was  at  meat  in  a  Pharisee's  house,  a 
sinful  woman  came  in  and  stood  at  his  feet  behind  him, 
weeping,  and  began  to  wet  his  feet  with  her  tears,  and 
wiped  them  with  her  hair,  and  kissed  his  feet  and 
anointed  them.  The  Master  said,  "  Her  sins,  which 
are  many,  are  forgiven;  for  she  loved  much."  He 
bade  her  go  in  peace,  telling  her  that  her  faith  had 
saved  her. 

'  'She  sat  and  wept,  and  with  her  nntressed  hair 
Still  wiped  the  feet  she  was  so  blest  to  touch  ; 
And  he  wiped  off  the  soiling  of  despair 
From  her  sweet  soul,  because  she  loved  so  much. ' ' 

At  another  time  a  woman  having  an  alabaster  cruse 
of  ointment  of  spikenard,  very  costly,  broke  the 
cruse  and  poured  it  over  his  head.  There  were  those 
who  asked,  "  To  what  purpose  hath  this  waste  of  the 
ointment  been  made?"  The  Lord  commended  her, 
saying,  "  She  hath  done  what  she  could."  He  added, 
"  Wheresoever  the  gospel  shall  be  preached  through- 
out the  whole  world,  that  also  which  this  woman  hath 
done   shall   be   spoken   of  for   a  memorial  of   her." 


WOMAN  AND  THE  GOSPEL.  135 

When  he  was  crucified  many  women  were  looking  on. 
When  his  body  was  placed  in  Joseph's  tomb,  Mary 
Magdalene  and  the  other  Mary  were  sitting  over 
against  the  sepulchre.  Early  on  the  first  day  of  the 
week  these  devout  women  came  to  the  tomb.  It 
was  to  one  of  them  that  our  Lord  first  appeared  and 
said,  "Go  unto  my  brethren  and  say  to  them,  I  as- 
cend unto  my  Father  and  your  Father,  and  my  God 
and  your  God."  It  was  to  women  that  the  great 
honor  of  being  the  first  to  announce  the  fact  that  he 
was  alive  was  given.  Peter  was  first  in  the  College  of 
the  Apostles.  To  him  the  keys  of  the  Kingdom  had 
been  given.  It  would  seem  that  to  him  the  Lord 
would  manifest  himself  first  after  he  rose  from  the 
dead.  But  Peter  had  denied  him  thrice,  and  by  his  de- 
nial had  forfeited  all  claims  to  precedence  in  this 
matter.  Speaking  of  woman  as  related  to  Christ,  one 
of  the  poets  has  said, 

'  'Not  she  with  traitorous  kiss  the  Master  stung, 
,  Not  she  reviled  him  with  unholy  tongue  ; 
She,  when  apostles  fled,  could  danger  brave, 
Last  at  the  cross  and  earliest  at  the  grave. ' ' 

The  records  we  have  of  the  early  church  show  that 
women  received  the  truth  and  helped  to  propagate  it. 
In  Jerusalem  believers  were  the  more  added  to  the 
Lord,  tniiJtitudes  both  of  men  and  women.  Under  the 
preaching  of  Philip  the  people  of  Samaria  believed 
and  were  baptized,  both  men  and  women.  In  Philippi 
Paul  and  Silas  sat  down  by  a  river's  side,  and  spoke 
to  the  women  who  were  there.  Lydia  and  her  house- 
hold believed  and  were  baptized.  In  Thessalonica 
some  were  persuaded,  and  consorted  with  Paul  and 
Silas;  and  of  the  devout  Greeks  a  great  multitude, 
and  of  the  chief  women  not  a  few.  In  Athens  among 
the  few  that  believed  was  a  woman  named  Damaris. 
Women  w^ere  persecuted  as  well  as  men.     Saul  laid 


136  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

waste  the  church,  entering  into  every  house,  and  tak- 
ing men  and  women,  committed  them  to  prison.  No 
chivalrous  impulse  stayed  the  hand  of  this  man 
Avho  was  breathing  out  threatenings  and  slaughters 
against  all  who  called  on  the  Name.  In  after  j-ears 
we  hear  this  same  man  say:  "I  commend  unto  you 
Phcebe  our  sister,  who  is  a  servant  of  the  church  that 
is  at  Cenchreas  .  .  .  for  she  herself  also  hath  been 
a  succorer  of  many,  and  of  mine  own  self."  "  Salute 
Prisca  and  Aquila,  my  fellow  workers  in  Christ  Jesus, 
who  for  my  life  laid  down  their  own  necks;  unto 
whom  not  only  I  give  thanks,  but  also  all  the  churches 
of  the  dentiles."  "  Salute  Mary,  who  bestowed  much 
labor  on  you."  "  Salute  Tryphena  and  Tryphosa,  who 
labor  in  the  Lord."  "  Salute  Persis  the  beloved,  who 
labored  much  in  the  Lord."  "Yea,  I  beseech  thee 
also,  true  yokefellow,  help  these  women,  for  they 
labored  with  me  in  the  gospel,  with  Clement  also,  and 
the  rest  of  my  fellow-workers,  whose  names  are  in  the 
book  of  life."  Priscilla  and  Aquila  instructed  Apollos 
in  the  way  of  the  Lord  more  perfectly.  Dorcas  was 
full  of  good  works  and  alms  deeds  which  she  did. 
Her  influence  has  been  felt  in  every  part  of  Christen- 
dom. Uhlhorn  says,  "As  mothers  who  trained  for  the 
church  its  standard  bearers,  as  deaconesses  in  the 
service  of  mercy,  as  martyrs  who  vied  with  men  for 
the  immortal  crown,  serving  everywhere,  praying, 
toiling,  enduring,  women  shared  in  the  great  conflict, 
and  to  them  surely,  in  no  small  degree,  is  the  victory 
due." 

Women  played  a  prominent  part  in  the  conversion  of 
Europe.  Clovis,  King  of  the  Franks,  married  a  Chris- 
tian princess.  Clotilda  was  the  niece  of  Gundebald, 
King  of  the  Burgundians.  Thinking  that  her  hus- 
l>aud's  heart  might  be  softened  by  the  birth  of  a  son, 
Clotilda  sought  to  wean  him  from  his  idolatrv.    Clovis 


WOMAN  AND  THE  GOSPEL.  137 

listened  with  careless  indifference,  but  permitted  the 
child  to  be  baptized.  In  the  crisis  of  a  battle  he 
prayed  to  Christ,  and  made  a  solemn  vow,  that  if  he 
were  succored  he  would  be  baptized  as  a  Christian. 
The  tide  of  battle  turned,  and  Clovis  abandoned  the 
deities  that  he  and  his  fathers  had  worshiped.  His 
conversion  paved  the  way  for  the  empire  of  Charle- 
magne, and  that  in  turn  materially  aided  in  the  evan- 
gelization of  Germany.  Ethelbert,  King  of  Kent, 
married  Bertha,  a  Christian  princess,  daughter  of 
Charibert,  King  of  Paris.  One  condition  of  this  mar- 
riage was  that  she  should  be  allowed  to  enjoy  the  free 
exercise  of  her  religion.  She  had  a  chapel  and  a 
chaplain  of  her  own.  Knowing  how  the  Franks  had 
been  advantaged  by  the  gospel,  she  must  have  often 
talked  to  the  King  and  the  nobles  and  the  people 
about  it,  and  urged  upon  them  its  acceptance.  Soon 
after  the  arrival  of  Augustine,  Ethelbert  and  over  ten 
thousand  of  his  people  were  baptized.  Northumbria 
was  won  to  the  faith  in  almost  the  same  way.  Edwin 
the  King  had  mai'ried  Ethelliurga,  the  daughter  of 
Ethelbert  and  Bertha.  Provision  was  made  for  the 
free  exercise  of  her  religion.  She  was  accompanied 
by  Bishop  Paulinus.  She  seconded  his  efforts  to  win 
over  her  husband"  and  the  pagan  Northumbrians. 
After  halting  for  a  time  between  two  opinions,  Edwin, 
with  many  of  his  family  and  nobles,  was  baptized. 
The  King  of  Bulgaria  accepted  the  gospel  very  largely 
through  the  influence  of  his  sister.  She  had  been 
taken  to  Constantinople  as  a  captive.  While  a  cap- 
tive she  was  educated  in  the  Christian  faith.  On  her 
release  she  uj-ged  the  King  to  be  baptized.  While  a 
pestilence  ravaged  the  land  he  adored  the  God  of  his 
sister.  The  plague  was  stayed;  the  King  acknowl- 
edged the  might  and  goodness  of  the  Christian's  God. 
Princess  Olga  of  Russia  embraced  Christianity  while 


138  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

on  a  journey  to  Constantinople.  On  her  return  to 
her  native  land  she  tried  to  persuade  her  son  to  be 
baptized.  The  gods  of  his  ancestors  were  sufficient 
for  him,  and  the  entreaties  of  his  mother  were  thrown 
away.  Her  grandson,  Vladimir,  was  a  more  docile 
pupil.  He  sent  messengers  to  the  Jews  and  Moham- 
medans, to  the  German  and  the  Eastern  churches. 
They  brought  back  a  gh)wing  account  of  what  they 
saw  in  the  church  of  St.  Sophia.  His  messengers 
added,  "If  the  religion  of  the  Greeks  had  not  been 
good,  your  grandmother  Olga,  who  was  the  wisest  of 
women,  would  not  have  embraced  it."  The  weight  of 
the  name  of  Olga  decided  him,  and  he  said,  "  Where 
shall  we  be  baptized?  "  The  Duke  of  Poland  married 
Dambroka,  the  daughter  of  the  Christian  King  of 
Bohemia,  and  shortly  after  embraced  the  Christian 
faith.  He  undertook  at  once  to  prevail  upon  his  peo- 
ple to  adopt  his  own  creed.  The  conversion  of  other 
kingdoms  was  facilitated  by  the  marriage  of  Christian 
women  with  pagan  kings. 

Other  women  helped  in  other  wa3's.  Maclear  tells 
us  that  in  Ireland  provision  was  made  for  such  women 
as  wished  to  give  themselves  up  to  a  monastic  life. 
Societies  were  formed,  of  which  that  of  St.  Bridget  of 
Kildare  was  the  most  celebrated.  The  inmates  visited 
the  sick  and  relieved  the  poor.  Their  clothing  was 
coarse,  their  food  of  the  simplest  kind,  and  each  mem- 
ber was  bound  to  a  celibate  life.  Boniface  appealed 
to  England  for  helpers  in  his  work  in  Hesse  and 
Thuringia.  Many  flocked  from  that  land  to  rally  about 
the  devoted  missionary.  Even  devout  women  were 
found  willing  to  sacrifice  the  pleasures  and  comforts 
of  their  homes  in  their  native  lands,  and  go  forth  to 
found  or  till  the  convents  which  Boniface  was  to  inau- 
gurate. Of  these  was  AValpurga,  who,  with  thirty  com- 
panions, crossed  the  sea  to  take  part  in  this  great  work. 


WOMAN  AND  THE  GOSPEL.  139 

After  a  little  she  removed  to  Suevia  and  presided  over 
a  band  of  nuns.  Another  of  these  heroic  women  went 
to  Thuringia,  another  to  Franconia,  and  another  to 
Bavaria.  There  was  no  work  or  peril  Avhich  the 
Christian  women  of  that  time  were  not  ready  to  share 
with  men.  They  hazarded  their  lives  for  the  name  of 
the  Lord  Jesus. 

Women  are  doing  now  more  than  ever  to  evangel- 
ize the  world.  There  are  now  seventy-five  missionary 
societies  representing  the  Avomen  of  Christendom, 
and  2,700  unmarried  women  in  the  fields.  The  socie- 
ties receive  and  disburse  about  $2,000,000  a  year.  The 
wives  of  the  missionaries  contribute  largely  to  the 
success  of  the  work.  A  Christian  home  is  an  object 
lesson  in  applied  Christianity.  The  wives  of  the  mis- 
sionaries visit  the  women  in  their  homes,  teach  in  day 
and  Sunday-schools,  and  assist  in  the  preaching  ser- 
vices. In  pagan  and  Mohammedan  lands,  women  can 
not  be  reached  by  men.  They  do  not  attend  public 
meetings  as  they  do  at  home.  No  man  is  allowed  to 
enter  a  zenana  or  a  harem  on  any  account.  A  male 
physician  can  not  see  the  face  of  a  woman.  If  those 
women  are  reached  at  all,  it  must  be  by  Avomen.  As 
Bible  readers,  as  teachers,  and  as  )nedical  missiona- 
ries, women  are  dt)ing  a  great  work.  Mi-^s  Whately 
spent  thirty  years  in  E^ypt  teaching  the  women  and 
children.  jNIiss  Agnew  taught  a  thousand  girls  in  Cey- 
lon. Mrs.  Boardman  conducted  schools  among  the 
Karens,  edited  a  hymn-ljook,  translated  ''Pilgrim's 
Progress,"  taught  the  women  the  Scriptures,  made 
long  mission  tours,  "climbed  mountains,  traversed 
marshes,  forded  streams,  and  threaded  forests." 
Miss  Graybiel  served  as  architect  and  masterbuilder. 
She  yoked  her  buffaloes,  drew  out  timber  from  the 
jungle,  brought  stones  from  the  quarry,  and  superin- 
tended the  construction  of  a  bungalow  in  India.     Dr. 


140  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

Gracey  has  said,  "These  women  have  gone  from  homes 
of  culture,  halls  of  learning,  and  the  enchantments 
of  Christian  society — gone  to  isolation  and  to  the 
dreariness  and  monotony  of  heathen  missions;  gone 
into  public  raelas,  private  hovels  and  lofty  mansions 
in  India  and  China;  camped  among  wild  Koords,  crept 
on  hands  and  knees  amid  smoke  and  vermin  in  a 
Zulu's  kraal,  sang  Christian  hymns  to  cannibal 
crowds,  slept  quietly  on  the  Infinite  Arm  in  the  habi- 
tations of  cruelty  and  abodes  of  lust,  scribbled  the 
seas  with  'centric  and  eccentric'  of  their  journeyings, 
risked  health  in  ways  unnamed  and  unknown,  bound 
up  offensive  wounds,  sympathized  with  the  fallen, 
trained  children,  given  to  mothers  a  loftier  ideal  of 
motherhood,  addressed  themselves  to  national  reforms 
in  the  interests  of  their  sex,  and  been  living  epistles 
of  the  everlasting  gospel.  And  all  this  have  they 
done,  not  under  the  impulse  of  mere  temporary  sen- 
timent, but  with  patience  that  could  plod,  with  inge- 
nuity that  could  create,  and  with  a  practical  wisdom 
that  could  conserve." 

//.  het  us  consider  the  condition  of  ivomen  with- 
out the  gospel.  In  some  non-Christian  lands  the  birth 
of  a  girl  is  regarded  as  an  intrusion  and  as  a  calam- 
ity. It  is  looked  upon  as  a  serious  blow  to  the  digni- 
ty and  prosperity  of  the  family.  Among  Orientals 
there  is  great  rejoicing  over  the  birth  of  a  son.  He 
will  perpetuate  the  name  and  the  memory  of  his 
father.  He  will  be  the  support  and  the  protection  of 
his  parents  in  their  declining  years.  He  will  speak 
with  the  enemy  in  the  gate.  But  the  great  expense  of 
the  marriage  feast  and  dower  makes  the  birth  of 
a  daughter  a  great  calamity  in  the  estimation  of  a 
poor  man.  "Through  a  son  he  conquers  the  world, 
through  a  son's  son  he  obtains  immortality,  but 
through  his  son's  grandson  he  gains  the  world  of  the 


WOMAN  AND  THE  GOSPEL.  141 

sun.  There  is  no  place  in  heaven  for  the  man  who 
has  no  male  offspring."  The  people  of  the  East 
never  cease  to  wonder  that  Christian  parents  make  no 
distinction  in  favor  of  a  son  over  a  daughter.  Eng- 
lish and  American  residents  have  received  visits  of 
condolence  when  a  girl  was  born  into  their  families. 
Their  neighbors  felt  that  it  would  be  unkind  to  allow 
such  a  disaster  to  pass  unnoticed.  Dr.  Post  says 
there  is  an  Arabic  proverb  to  the  effect  that  the  house- 
hold weeps  forty  days  when  a  girl  is  born.  The  birth 
of  a  son  calls  for  music  and  dancing  and  congratula- 
tions. A  missionary  heard  a  little  girl  speaking  to 
her  playmate  about  something  she  had  seen  the  day 
before.  She  said,  "It  was  very  small."  Her  friend 
asked,  "How  small  was  it?"  "It  was  just  a  little 
speck  of  a  thing."  "But  just  how  small  was  it?"  "It 
was  as  small  as  the  joy  of  my  father  on  the  day  I  was 
born."  In  some  countries  people  say,  "Ten  daugh- 
ters are  not  equal  to  one  son.  Boys  come  from  the 
gods ;  girls  come  from  the  demons ;  boys  are  a  blessing, 
girls  are  a  curse."  There  is  nothing  a  father  will  not 
do  for  the  good  and  for  the  comfort  of  his  son.  If  he 
is  sick  he  will  watch  over  him  with  the  tenderest  care, 
because  he  is  necessary  to  perpetuate  the  glory  of  his 
house;  but  custom  forbids  him  taking  his  little  girl  in 
his  arms  and  kissing  her  and  paying  her  any  of  the 
attentions  which  are  so  gratifying  to  the  heart  of  a 
child.  Dr.  Morrison  found  a  poem  which  he  trans- 
lated from  the  Chinese.     It  runs  thus: 

' '  When  a  son  is  born , 
He  sleeps  on  a  bed ; 
He  is  clothed  in  robes ; 
He  plays  with  gems  ; 
His  cry  is  j^rincely  loud  ; 
But  when  a  daughter  is  born 
She  sleops  on  the  gronnd ; 
She  is  clothed  with  a  wrapper  ; 
She  plays  with  a  tile  ; 


142  MISSIONARY  ADDZIESSI^S. 

She  is  incapable  of  good  or  evil, 

It  is  hers  only  to  think  of  preparing-  wine  and  food, 

And  not  of  giving  any  occasion  of  grief  to  her  parent. '  * 

It  is  because  of  this  feeling  of  inferiority  that  so 
many  girls  are  destroyed  in  infancy.  Mr.  Henry,  the 
author  of  "The  Cross  and  the  Dragon,"  states  that 
in  some  districts  of  China  one-fifth  of  all  the  female 
children  born  are  put  to  death  by  their  parents.  Of 
ten  women  selected  at  random,  all  but  two  had  de- 
stroyed at  least  one  child.  The  reason  assigned  was 
extreme  poverty.  One  man  told  Mr.  Henry  that  h^ 
had  killed  seven  daughters  in  succession.  In  many 
cases  where  girls  are  not  killed  they  are  sold  to  "devil 
grannies"  to  be  brought  up  for  immoral  purposes.  A 
girl  costs  twenty  cents,  the  price  of  a  monkey.  Prior 
to  1852  this  crime  was  prevalent  and  systematic  in 
India.  The  British  government  prohibited  it  at  that 
time,  but  it  is  still  practiced,  though  with  greater 
secrecy  than  before.  In  one  town  300  girls  had  been 
carried  off  by  wolves.  Dr.  Gracey  say^  that  the  re- 
port of  the  magistrate  who  investigated  the  crime  of 
female  infanticide  in  1871,  read-5  like  a  romance  "set 
on  fire  by  hell."  The  report  states  that  in  seven  of 
ten  villages  the  magistrate  found  104  boys  and  one 
girl.  In  nineteen  other  villages  near  Nagpore  he 
found  210  boys  and  forty-five  girls.  In  a  group  of 
nine  other  villages  he  found  seventy-one  boys  and 
seven  girls.  A  female  child  is  drowned  in  a  tub  of 
water,  or  given  a  pill  of  opium,  or  left  by  the  roadside 
to  die  of  hunger,  or  buried  alive.  Some  member  of 
the  family  strikes  -the  threshold  with  a  knife  to  show 
that  every  tie  that  bound  the  little  stranger  to  the 
home  has  been  severed.  Fire-crackers  are  exploded, 
gongs  are  beaten,  and  all  sorts  of  noises  are  made  to 
scare  away  the  little  spirit  forever.  A  common  re- 
mark is  that  girls  cost  more  than  they  come  to.     Life 


WOMAN  AND  THE  GOSPEL.  143 

is  cheaper  than  food.  The  shiughter  of  the  innocents 
by  Herod  was  a  trivial  incident  in  comparison  with 
what  is  now  going  on  in  pagan  hinds. 

Except  where  missionaries  are  at  work,  anything 
worthy  of  the  name  of  education  is  contined  to  the 
boys.  Girls  are  looked  upon  as  an  inferior  order  of 
beings.  A  learned  Hindu  said:  "  We  have  trouble 
enough  with  our  women  now;  and  if  we  should  edu- 
cate them,  we  would  not  be  able  to  manage  them  at 
all."  Until  recent  years  there  was  no  school  in  India 
in  which  girls  could  be  educated.  Even  the  wealth- 
iest received  no  mental  training.  Reading  and  writing 
were  regarded  as  positively  injurious.  The  prevailing 
idea  for  centuries  was  that  the  only  way  to  keep 
them  under  control  was  to  keep  them  ignorant.  The}'' 
were  considered  more  beautiful  when  their  minds 
were  a  blank  like  the  mere  dolls  they  are  at  their  best 
estate.  When  a  missionary  opened  a  school  for  girls, 
an  old  man  said:  "  If  you  teach  the  girls  to  read  and 
write,  they  will  be  writing  love-letters  to  the  men, 
and  the  community  will  be  turned  upside  down." 
An  influential  Hindu  said:  "You  may  educate  my 
sons;  you  may  open  all  your  stores  of  knowledge  to 
them:  but  you  must  not  approach  my  daughters,  how- 
ever benevolent  your  designs.  Their  ignorance  and 
seclusion  are  essential  to  tlxe  honor  of  my  family,  a 
consideration  of  far  greater  moment  to  me  than  an}' 
mental  cultivation  that  I  can  imagine."  "Educate 
girls!"  said  an  orthodox  Hindu,  "you  might  as  well 
attempt  to  educate  a  monkey  or  a  jackal!"  In  India 
not  more  than  one  woman  in  eight  hundred  can  read. 
]\lr.  Williams  says  that  in  China  not  more  than  one 
woman  in  ten  thousand  can  read.  One  man  said,  "It 
is  no  use  to  educ^e  girls.  In  a  few  years  they  will  be 
married,  and  will  belong  to  other  families;  why,  then, 
should  I  waste  my  time  and  money  teaching  them? 


144  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

It  is  no  matter  whether  gu-ls  know  anything  or  not. 
It  is  even  better  that  they  should  not."  Another 
said:  "  To  educate  a  girl  is  like  putting  a  gold  chain 
around  the  neck  of  the  puppy  of  some  one  else."  A 
missionary  was  urging  some  girls  to  attend  his  school. 
They  said:  "We  are  only  donkeys;  we  have  no 
intellects;  don't  waste  your  time  on  us."  In  Assam, 
when  it  was  proposed  to  open  a  school  for  girls,  they 
said:  "Teach  the  girls!  Why  you  might  as  well 
gather  in  the  goats  and  wild  hogs,  and  seat  them  on 
the  benches,  and  teach  them  the  alphabet!"  In  Per- 
sia among  the  Nestorians  it  is  deemed  immodest  for  a 
woman  to  know  how  to  read.  Some  women  in  that 
land  were  asked,  "Who  was  the  first  man?"  They 
replied:  "What  do  we  know?  We  are  women," 
That  was  equivalent  to  saying,  "We  are  donkeys." 
Dr.  Duff  said  that  to  attempt  to  educate  women  in 
India  was  like  trying  to  scale  a  wall  five  hundred 
yards  high.  In  the  non-Christian  world  the  feeling 
was  that  women  were  neither  worthy  nor  capable  of 
receiving  an  education. 

In  all  domestic  and  social  arrangements  the  degra- 
dation of  women  in  non-Christian  lands  is  apparent. 
"A  woman  is  never  fit  for  independence."  This  is  a 
cardinal  principle.  In  childhood  she  must  be  subject 
to  her  father;  in  youth,  to  her  husband;  when  her 
lord  is  dead,  to  her  son.  She  is  married  to  a  man 
whom  she  neither  loves  nor  knows.  She  is  not 
allowed  to  speak  to  him  till  after  the  ceremony.  She 
is  not  supposed  to  be  of  sufficient  consequence  to 
warrant  any  deference  being  paid  to  her  feelings  and 
wishes.  She  is  a  prisoner  or  a  slave  as  soon  as  she  is 
married.  Her  wedding  day  is  her  last  day  of  liberty. 
She  is  taught  that  her  supreme  duty  is  to  obey  the 
commands  of  her  husband.  The  sacred  books  say: 
"  Let  the  wife  gratify  him  with  the  strictest  obedience. 


WOMAN  AND  THE  GOSPEL.  145 

Though  he  be  aged  and  infirm  and  a  drunkard  and  a 
debauchee,  she  must  still  regard  him  as  her  god." 
"A  husband,  however  devoid  of  good  qualities,  must 
be  constantly  revered  as  a  god  by  a  virtuous  Avife." 
"Let  the  wife  who  seeks  to  perform  sacred  ablutions, 
"wash  the  feet  of  her  lord,  and  drink  the  water;  for 
her  husband  is  greater  to  her  than  Vishnu."  A  Chief 
spoke  to  Paton  in  justification  of  the  way  they  treated 
their  wives:  "We  must  beat  them,  or  they  would 
never  obey  us.  When  they  quarrel,  and  become  too 
bad  to  manage,  we  have  to  kill  one  and  feast  on  her. 
Then  all  the  other  wives  of  the  whole  tribe  are  quiet 
and  obedient  for  a  long  time  to  come."  In  South 
Africa  women  are  expected  to  do  all  the  work.  They 
are  the  hewers  of  wood  and  the  drawers  of  water. 
The  first  missionaries  to  Australia  had  some  oxen 
with  them.  When  the  natives  saw  the  oxen  carrying 
the  goods  of  the  household,  they  said:  "  These  oxen 
are  the  wives  of  the  missionaries."  Among  them  the 
wife  was  the  beast  of  burden.  In  more  civilized 
countries  the  rich  women  are  shut  up  in  their  own 
apartments.  When  some  of  them  were  asked  how 
they  spent  their  time,  they  said:  "  We  sit  here  till  we 
get  tired;  and  then  we  sit  there  till  Ave  get  tired." 
"We  smoke  and  eat  and  sleep  and  do  our  hair." 
They  feel  like  frogs  in  a  well ;  everything  is  hid  from 
them.  They  do  not  eat  at  the  same  table.  They 
wait  till  their  husbands  are  done,  and  then  eat  what 
they  are  pleased  to  leave  on  their  plates.  Speaking 
of  what  he  saw  in  South  Africa,  Drummond  said: 
"His  wife,  or  wives,  are  the  millers  and  bakers;  they 
work  hard  to  prepare  his  food,  and  are  rewarded  by 
having  to  take  their  own  meals  apart,  for  no  African 
would  ever  demean  himself  by  eating  with  a  woman." 
Mr.  Seward,  after  making  a  tour  of  the  world,  said; 
10 


146  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

"In  all  the  East  there  is  not  a  home."  There  are 
seraglios  and  harems  and  zenanas,  but  there  are  no 
homes.  In  the  absence  of  equality  between  the  sexes, 
and  in  the  absence  of  love,  it  is  impossible  that  there 
should  be. 

The  wife  has  no  marital  rights.  In  China  a  man 
may  put  away  his  wife  if  she  talks  too  much,  or  is 
jealous,  or  bad-tempered,  or  disobedient,  or  dishon- 
est. He  is  judge  and  jury,  and  from  his  verdict  there 
is  no  appeal.  For  no  cause  can  the  wife  dissolve  the 
marriage  vow.  What  is  a  crime  in  her  is  overlooked 
in  him.  Manu  says:  "She  who  drinks  spirituous 
liquor,  is  of  bad  conduct,  rebellious,  diseased,  mis- 
chievous or  wasteful,  may  at  any  time  be  superseded 
by  another  wife."  No  such  provision  is  made  for  the 
woman.  She  must  worship  him  even  though  he  be  des- 
titute of  virtue,  and  seeks  pleasure  elsewhere,  or  be 
devoid  of  good  qualities,  addicted  to  evil  passions, 
fond  of  sj)irituous  liquors,  or  diseased.  Or  if  she  fails 
to  bear  sons,  she  may  be  superseded.  Polygamy  is 
the  bane  of  the  East  and  of  nearly  all  non-Christian 
nations.  A  savage  told  James  Chalmers  that  he 
could  never  be  a  great  chief  as  long  as  he  had  only 
one  wife.  The  number  of  wives  is  a  measure  of 
power.  The  Koran  allows  a  man  four  wives  and  as 
many  slaves  as  he  can  capture.  A  Brahman  may 
marry  ten  or  one  hundred  and  fifty  girls.  He  receives 
presents  from  their  parents,  goes  home  and  never 
returns.  Mrs.  Bishop  visited  the  Polynesian  Islands, 
Japan,  Southern  China,  the  Malay  Peninsula,  Ceylon, 
Northern  India,  Cashmere,  Western  Thibet  and  Cen- 
tral Asia,  Persia,  Arabia  and  Asia  Minor.  She  says 
that  she  had  hardly  ever  been  in  a  woman's  house  or 
near  a  woman's  tent  without  being  asked  for  drugs 
with  which  to  disfigure  the  favorite  wife,  to  take  away 
her  life,  or  to  take  away  the  life  of  the  favorite  wife's 


WOMAN  AND  THE  GOSPEL.  147 

infant  son.  This  request  hud  been  ma<le  of  her 
nearly  two  hundred  times. 

The  most  unfortunate  class  in  the  East  are  widows. 
Girls  are  betrothed  when  they  are  four  or  five  years 
of  age,  and  if  the  boy  should  die  before  marriage,  or 
soon  after,  there  is  no  more  joy  for  them.  His  death 
is  the  result  of  her  sin.  Not  a  day  passes  that  his 
relatives  will  not  curse  her  for  his  death.  Ramabai 
saj's  that  no  sooner  does  he  die  than  the  wife  is 
deprived  of  every  gold  and  silver  ornament,  and  of 
all  bright-colored  garments.  Among  the  Brahmans 
of  Deccan  the  heads  of  all  Avidows  must  be  shaved 
regularly  every  fortnight.  The  widow  must  wear  a 
single  coarse  garment.  She  must  eat  only  one  meal  a 
day.  She  must  take  part  in  no  family  feasts.  She  is 
spoken  of  as  an  inauspicious  thing.  The  name  by 
which  she  is  known  is  the  same  as  that  borne  by  a 
harlot.  Of  the  20,000,000  of  widows  in  India,  78,000 
are  under  nine  years  of  age;  200,000  are  under  four- 
teen, and  400,000  are  under  nineteen.  They  must 
remain  widows  until  they  die.  They  must  work  as 
slaves,  be  blamed  for  all  that  goes  wrong,  and  praised 
for  nothing.  In  ancient  times  the  widow  was  burned 
with  the  body  of  her  husband.  She  would  prefer  to 
be  burned  still,  rather  than  endure  the  abuse  and 
hardships  of  her  present  lot. 

The  pagan  theory  is  that  the  wife  is  the  property  of 
the  husband.  He  owns  her  as  he  owns  his  cows, 
mares,  camels,  buffaloes  and  goats.  While  he  lives  it 
is  her  business  to  serve  and  to  adore  him.  AVhen  he 
dies  she  must  die,  so  that  her  spirit  may  accompany 
him  into  the  other  world  and  minister  to  him  there. 
John  Williams  describes  the  funeral  of  a  chief  in 
Fiji:  His  body  is  laid  in  state.  The  principal  wife 
takes  her  seat  beside  it.  A  rope  is  passed  about  her 
neck,  which  eight  or  ten  powerful  men  pull  till  she  is 


148  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

strangled.  A  second  wife  takes  her  place,  and  the 
]5rocess  is  repeated.  A  third  and  fourth  become  vol- 
untary sacrifices  in  the  same  manner,  until  all  are 
dead.  All  are  buried  in  a  common  grave.  Some- 
times, if  a  widow  was  fat  and  buxom,  a  tough  and 
ancient  female  suffered  the  cord  in  her  place;  but 
this  was  the  exception.  In  the  present  century,  upon 
the  death  of  a  Turkish  sultan,  his  successor  took  his 
wives  and  female  slaves,  in  all  about  two  hundred, 
tied  them  up  in  sacks,  and  dropped  them  into  the 
Bosporus.  Cameron  describes  the  burial  of  an  Afri- 
can chief:  A  river  was  turned  from  its  bed,  and  a 
huge  grave  dug  in  the  channel,  the  bottom  of  which 
was  covered  with  living  women.  The  dead  body  was 
supported  in  a  sitting  posture  by  his  wives.  The 
earth  was  shoveled  in  and  the  women  buried  alive, 
after  which  the  river  was  allowed  to  resume  its  course. 
The  false  faiths  condemn  woman  to  moral  and 
physical  degradation.  A  Mohammedan  apologizes 
when  he  finds  it  necessary  to  refer  to  a  dog,  a  pig,  a 
donkey,  or  a  woman.  Confucius  speaks  of  man  as 
being  as  far  above  woman  as  heaven  is  above  the 
earth.  A  Chinese  mandarin  said  to  a  French  traveler, 
"Women  have  no  souls."  When  he  was  told  they 
had,  he  laughed  and  said,  "When  I  go  home  I  will 
tell  my  wife  she  has  a  soul.  She  will  be  surprised,  I 
think."  In  Morocco  some  women  said,  "What  is  the 
good  of  talking  to  us  about  Jesus  and  spiritual  things? 
Why  don't  you  go  and  talk  to  the  cows?  We  have  no 
souls!"  In  that  country  a  woman  sells  for  the  price 
of  a  mule.  The  laws  of  Manu  say:  "  We  may  trust 
deadly  poisons,  a  swollen  river,  a  hurricane,  beasts  of 
prey,  a  thief,  a  savage,  a  murderer,  but  a  woman, 
never."  John  Williams  found  that  in  some  places 
women  were  not  allowed  to  enter  the  sacred  enclos- 
ures.   The  pigs  might,  but  the  women  could  not.    The 


WOMAN   AND  THE  GOSPEL.  149 

pigs  were  not  regarded  as  great  a  pollution  as  were 
their  mothers,  their  wives,  and  their  daughters. 

Buddhism  teaches  that  if  a  man  commits  many  foul 
crimes,  he  must  return  to  the  earth  as  a  woman,  or  as 
an  animal,  and  pay  the  penalty  of  his  evil  conduct. 
If  a  woman  has  conducted  herself  well,  and  if  she 
has  had  sons,  she  may  return  to  the  earth  as  a  man, 
and  so  attain  everlasting  felicity.  But  if  she  has  been 
disobedient,  and  has  not  worshiped  her  lord,  she  will 
sink  to  the  lowest  hell,  and  suffer  the  most  exquisite 
tortures.  After  this  she  will  be  born  a  woman,  and 
will  be  married  only  to  become  a  widow,  from  which 
condition  she  must  pass  to  that  of  a  serpent  or  a 
loathsome  insect.  In  India  woman  is  said  to  be  as 
impure  as  falsehood  itself.  She  is  never  to  be 
trusted;  matters  of  importance  are  not  to  be  com- 
mitted to  her.  She  must  not  read  the  Shasters. 
They  were  not  written  for  her.  She  has  no  right  to 
pronounce  a  syllable  out  of  them.  Bainbridge  states 
that  there  are  300,000,000  women  living  in  the  Bud- 
dhist hope  of  being  born  again  a  man,  and  not  a  toad 
or  a  snake;  and  90,000,000  more  in  the  most  abject 
slavery  of  mind  and  body  to  their  Hindu  lords;  and 
80,000,000  more  in  Moslem  harems,  unloved,  uncared 
for,  ])ut  as  tools  of  lust,  and  in  the  certainty  of  being 
supplanted  when  the  charms  of  youth  are  gone.  The 
life  of  a  heathen  woman  is  like  the  prophets'  scroll, 
written  all  over  with  lamentation  and  sorrow  and 
mourning. 

There  is  not  a  girl  in  all  Christendom  that  is  not  in- 
debted to  Christ  for  all  that  gladdens  and  brightens 
her  life.  It  is  because  of  his  teaching  that  her 
parents  did  not  put  on  sackcloth  and  sit  in  the  ashes 
when  she  was  born.  It  is  because  of  his  teaching 
that  she  can  run  to  lisp  her  sire's  return,  and  climb 
his  knees  the  envied  kiss  to  share,  and  that  a  proud 


150  MISSIONARY    ADDRESSES. 

father  takes  her  to  his  heart  and  hivishes  his  caresses 
upon  her,  and  deals  as  lovingly  with  her  as  with  her 
stronger  brother.  It  is  because  of  the  influence  of 
Christ's  life  that  her  mind  is  developed,  and  that  her 
life  is  as  gay  as  his.  There  is  not  a  woman  in  Chris- 
tian lands  that  is  not  under  infinite  obligations  to  the 
Christ.  A  heathen  woman  said,  "Your  Bible  must 
have  been  written  by  a  woman,  it  says  so  many  kind 
things  about  women.  The  Shasters  say  nothing  but 
harsh  and  cruel  things  of  us."  It  is  because  of  his 
teaching  that  no  one  can  force  her  into  a  marriage 
that  is  abhorrent  to  her,  that  she  is  a  queen  in  her 
own  home,  that  she  eats  at  the  same  table,  that  she 
can  not  be  superseded  by  another,  and  that  in  all 
domestic  and  social  arrangements  the  preference  is 
always  given  to  her.  In  Christian  lands  no  one  is 
disposed  to  repeat  the  proverb  of  India,  "  Woman 
is  a  great  whirlpool  of  suspicion,  a  dwelling-place  of 
vices,  full  of  deceits,  a  hindrance  in  the  way  of 
heaven,  the  gate  to  hell."  On  the  contrary  it  is  her 
province  to  allure  to  brighter  worlds,  and  to  lead  the 
way.     It  is  for  her  to 

'  'Teach  high  thoughts,  and  amiable  words, 
And  courtliness,  and  the  desire  of  fame, 
And  love  of  truth,  and  all  that  makes  a  man. " 

Christian  woman,  the  Lord  has  great  things  in  store 
for  you.  He  has  given  you  ten  thousand  times  ten 
thousand  blessings.  You  can  best  show  your  grati- 
tude by  doing  what  you  can  to"  bring  your  sisters 
everywhere  to  the  same  exalted  position.  You  have 
done  much  to  this  end.  Your  record  is  a  magnificent 
one.  The  great  work  that  woman  is  doing  for  the 
elevation  of  her  own  sex  is  said  to  be  the  crowning 
glory  of  the  niuteenth  century.  The  women  that 
publish  the  tidings  are  indeed  a  great  host.  While 
giving  full  credit  for  all  that  has  Vjeen  done,  it  is  clear 


WOMAN  AND  THE  GOSPEL.  .         151 

that  there  should  be  a  great  increase  in  the  number  of 
those  who  are  seeking  to  remove  the  curse  from  the 
women  of  non-Christian  lands;  for  even  now  not  half 
the  women  that  have  named  the  name  of  Christ  are 
enlisted  in  this  work. 

' '  The  restless  millions  wait 

That  light  whose  dawning  maketh  all  things  new  ; 
Christ  also  waits,  but  men  are  slow  and  late. 
Have  we  done  what  we  could?    Havel?    Have  you?" 


VIII. 
MISSIONS    IN   THE   LIFE   OF   CHEIST. 

"Wherefore,  holy  brethren,  partakers  of  a  heavenly  calling,  consider  the 
Apostle  and  High  Priest  of  our  confession,  even  Jesus,  who  was  faithful  to 
him  that  appointed  him,  as  also  was  Moses  in  all  his  house.— Heft.  iii.  1,  2. 

The  word  "apostle"  means  precisely  the  same  as 
the  word  "missionary,"  Apostle  is  from  the  Greek; 
missionary  is  from  the  Latin;  but  both  mean  one  who 
is  "sent."  Our  Lord  tells  us  that  he  did  not  come  of 
himself;  the  Father  sent  him.  "For  God  sent  not  the 
Son  into  the  world  to  judge  the  world;  but  that  the 
world  should  be  saved  through  him."  "As  the  living 
Father  sent  me,  and  I  live  because  of  the  Father;  so 
he  that  eateth  me,  he  also  shall  live  because  of  me." 
"And  this  is  life  eternal,  that  they  should  know  thee, 
the  only  true  God,  and  him  whom  thou  didst  send, 
even  Jesus  Christ."  John  says,  "  Herein  was  the  love 
of  God  manifested  in  us,  that  God  hath  sent  his  only 
begotten  Son  into  the  world,  that  we  might  live 
through  him.  Herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God, 
but  that  he  loved  us,  and  sent  his  Son  to  be  the  pro- 
pitiation for  our  sins."  Livingstone  said,  "God  had 
only  one  Son,  and  he  made  of  him  a  missionary,  and 
sent  him  into  the  world  to  seek  and  to  save  that 
which  was  lost!"  The  text  calls  upon  us  to  consider 
this  Apostle,  or  Missionary,  even  Jesus.  I  invite  your 
attention  to  this  subject — Missions  in  the  Life  of 
Christ. 

(153) 


St4ii^S>aU&Jiki^-^ii-»:,J*aii£-at^';ii::^if^ji&i& 


WORKERS   IX   EXGLAXD. 

W.  DrRBAX,  Hornsey,  London  E.  H.  Spring,  Cheltenliam. 

™.  _,  ,,  ^  ,.       ,.  ,         •'•  •>■  Haley,  recently  of  Birkenhead. 

VV .  1 .  Moore,  Editor    C  hristian  Commonwealth.  '      G.  T.  Warden,  West  London  Tabernacle. 


MISSIONS  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  CHRIST.  153 

/.  Let  US  consider  the  efforts  he  put  forth  to  save  the 
world.  Peter  speaks  of  him  a?  anointed  with  the 
Holy  Spirit  and  power,  and  adds  that  he  went  about 
doing  good,  and  healing  all  who  were  oppressed  of 
the  devil.  A  large  part  of  the  Gospels  is  taken  up 
with  the  record  of  his  evangelistic  tours.  He  had  no 
settled  home;  he  needed  none.  In  order  to  accom- 
plish the  purpose  for  which  he  was  sent,  he  must  visit 
the  towns  and  villages  of  Palestine.  A  few  followed 
him  from  place  to  place,  but  in  the  nature  of  the  case 
most  could  not  leave  their  homes.  If  reached  at  all, 
the  gospel  must  be  carried  to  them.  The  constant 
aim  and  endeavor  of  our  Lord  was  to  evangelize  the 
whole  people  before  his  earthly  career  closed  forever. 
His  missionary  zeal  and  activity  were  boundless.  His 
baptism  took  place  at  Bethany  beyond  Jordan. 
While  there  he  called  Andrew  and  Simon,  Philip  and 
Nathanael.  After  a  little  he  returned  to  Galilee.  We 
read  of  his  being  at  the  marriage  at  Cana,  where  he 
performed  his  first  miracle,  and  manifested  his  glory. 
At  the  close  of  the  feast  he  went  to  Capernaum  for  a 
few  days.  We  find  him  next  in  Jerusalem  at  the 
Passover.  It  was  at  this  time  that  he  found  in  the 
temple  those  that  sold  oxen  and  sheep  and  doves,  and 
the  changers  of  money,  and  made  a  scourge  of  cords 
and  drove  them  all  out,  and  said,  "Make  not  my 
Father's  house  a  house  of  merchandise."  He  spent 
some  time  in  and  near  Jerusalem.  We  are  told  that 
many  l)elieved  on  him,  beholding  the  signs  which  he 
did.  Among  these  was  Nicodemus,  a  ruler  of  the 
Jews.  But  the  ruling  class  held  aloof.  When  he 
knew  that  the  Pharisees  heard  that  he  made  and  bap- 
tized more  disciples  than  John,  he  left  Judea  and 
went  back  to  Galilee.  On  the  way,  as  he  passed 
through  Samaria,  he  came  to  Jacob's  well,  where  he 
had  that  memorable  talk  with  the  woman  of  Sychar. 


154  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

In  answer  to  the  request  of  the  people  of  the  village, 
he  remained  with  them  two  days.  The  historian  says 
that  many  believed  on  him  because  of  the  word  of  the 
woman,  and  many  more  believed  on  him  because  of 
his  own  word.  These  said  to  the  woman,  "Now  we 
believe,  not  because  of  thy  speaking;  for  we  have 
heard  for  ourselves,  and  know  that  this  is  indeed  the 
Savior  of  the  world." 

On  reaching  Galilee  he  preached  in  their  syna- 
gogues that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand.  He 
visited  Cana  a  second  time,  and  healed  the  dying  son 
of  a  nobleman.  Thereupon  he  went  to  ISTazareth, 
where  he  had  been  brought  up.  Here  it  was  that  he 
read  and  expounded  the  words  of  Isaiah,  "The  Spirit 
of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me,  because  he  anointed  me 
to  preach  good  tidings  to  the  poor;  he  hath  sent  me 
to  proclaim  release  to  the  captives,  and  recovering  of 
sight  to  the  blind,  to  proclaim  the  acceptable  year  of 
the  Lord."  The  people  were  pleased  at  first,,  but 
before  he  was  done  they  were  filled  with  wrath,  and 
cast  him  forth  out  of  the  city,  and  led  him  to  the 
brow  of  the  hill  on  which  their  city  was  built,  that 
they  might  throw  him  down  headlong.  Rejected  in 
Nazareth,  he  went  to  Capernaum,  thus  fulfilling  the 
prophecy,  "The  people  who  sat  in  darkness  saw  a 
great  light,  and  to  them  who  sat  in  the  region  and 
shadow  of  death,  to  them  did  light  spring  up." 
While  he  was  preaching  there  he  healed  a  man  who 
had  an  unclean  demon.  The  narrative  says  that  there 
went  forth  a  rumor  of  him  into  every  place  of  the 
region  round  about.  It  was  about  this  time  that  he 
began  to  visit  and  to  preach  in  every  part  of  Galilee. 
We  read,  "And  Jesus  went  about  in  all  Galilee,  teach- 
ing in  their  synagogues,  and  preaching  the  gospel  of 
the  kingdom,  and  healing  all  manner  of  sickness  and 
all    manner   of    disease    among   the    people."   (Matt. 


MISSIONS  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  CHRIST.  155 

iv.  23.)  Matthew  adds  that  there  followed  him  great 
multitudes  from  Galilee  and  Decapolis  and  Jerusalem 
and  Judea  and  from  beyond  Jordan.  His  fame 
reached  Syria,  and  they  brought  to  him  their  sick, 
their  demoniacs,  the  epileptic,  and  the  palsied,  and 
he  healed  them.  Speaking  of  this  time,  Mark  tells  us 
that  Simon  and  others  said  to  him,  "All  men  are 
seeking  thee."  He  said,  "  Let  us  go  elsewhere,  into 
the  next  towns,  that  I  may  preach  there  also;  for  to 
this  end  came  I  forth."  He  could  not  stop  to  be 
admired;  his  work  was  to  reach  the  whole  people. 
He  could  not  do  that  by  staying  in  one  place.  About 
this  time  Luke  tells  us  that  the  multitudes  sought 
after  him,  aad  would  have  stayed  him,  that  he  should 
not  go  from  thence.  But  he  said,  "I  must  preach 
the  good  tidings  of  the  kingdom  of  God  to  the  other 
cities  also,  for  therefore  was  I  sent."  Popularity  was 
not  his  aim.  His  mission  was  to  reach  the  people 
with  the  message  respecting  the  kingdom.  To  do 
that  he  must  brush  aside  all  opposition  and  go  to 
them. 

Having  finished  his  first  circuit  of  Galilee,  he 
attended  a  feast  in  Jerusalem.  Here  he  healed  the 
man  who  had  been  in  Bethesda  for  thirty-eight  3'ears. 
On  account  of  the  hostility  of  the  rulers,  he  is  soon 
on  his  way  back  to  Galilee.  Because  he  healed  a  man 
with  a  withered  hand  on  the  Sabbath  day,  it  was  pro- 
posed to  put  him  to  death.  Learning  of  this,  he 
withdrew  from  the  public  gaze,  and  charged  his 
friends  not  to  make  him  known.  The  prophet  had 
said  of  him,  "He  shall  not  strive  nor  cry  aloud, 
neither  shall  any  one  hear  his  voice  in  the  streets." 
Next  he  appears  in  Capernaum,  where  he  healed  the 
centurion's  servant.  After  this  he  is  'in  the  city  of 
Nain ;  here  he  raises  to  life  the  widow's  son.  At  this 
point  he  made  a  second  missicmary  tour  through  Gali- 


156  MISSIONARY    ADDRESSES. 

lee.  Luke  says,  "And  it  came  to  pass  soon  after- 
wards, that  he  went  about  through  cities  and  villages, 
preaching  and  bringing  the  good  tidings  of  the  king- 
dom of  God."  (Luke  viii.  1.)  While  on  this  tour  his 
mother  and  brothers  came  to  have  an  interview  with 
him.  While  on  this  tour  great  multitudes  followed 
him,  and  he  spoke  man}'  parables  to  them.  Because 
of  the  crowds  and  the  excitement,  he  crossed  the  Sea 
of  Galilee,  and  entered  the  country  of  the  Gadarenes. 
Here  he  healed  the  fierce  demoniac.  Because  of  the 
loss  of  their  swine,  the  people  begged  him  to  depart 
out  of  their  coasts.  He  left  at  their  request,  and  went 
back  to  Capernaum.  At  this  place  Matthew  made 
him  a  feast.  Here  he  raised  the  daughter  of  Jairus. 
After  this  two  blind  men  besought  him  to  have  mercy 
on  them.  He  touched  and  opened  their  eyes.  After 
this  he  returned  to  Nazareth  and  was  rejected  a  sec- 
ond time.  His  townsmen  were  scandalized  because 
they  could  not  account  for  his  mighty  deeds.  He 
next  made  a  third  circuit  of  Galilee.  The  historian 
says:  "And  Jesus  went  about  all  the  cities  and  vil- 
lages, teaching  in  their  synagogues,  and  preaching  the 
gospel  of  the  kingdom,  and  healing  all  manner  of  dis- 
ease and  all  manner  of  sickness."  (Matt.  ix.  35.) 
When  he  saw  the  multitudes,  he  was  moved  with 
compassion  for  them,  because  they  were  distressed 
and  scattered  as  sheep  not  having  a  shepherd.  Then 
said  he  to  his  disciples,  "The  harvest  truly  is  plente- 
ous, but  the  laborers  are  few.  Pray  ye  therefore  the 
Lord  of  the  harvest  that  he  send  forth  laborers  into 
his  harvest." 

We  next  find  him  crossing  the  Sea  of  Galilee. 
Great  numbers  followed  him.  They  were  in  such 
eager  haste  that  they  forgot  to  take  any  food  with 
them.  Here  it  was  that  he  took  the  five  loaves  and 
the  two  fishes  and  fed  five  thousand.      The  people 


MISSIONS  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  CHRIST.  157 

wanted  to  take  him  by  force  and  make  him  a  king. 
Seeing  this,  he  withdrew  into  a  mountain,  and  that 
night  he  crossed  the  sea  again  and  came  to  Caper- 
naum. For  a  season  he  walked  in  Galilee,  for  he 
would  not  walk  in  Judea,  for  the  Jews  sought  to  kill 
him.  After  this  he  Avent  far  north  into  the  parts  of 
Tj're  and  Sidon,  where  he  healed  the  daughter  of  the 
Syro-Phenician  woman.  Then  he  returned  near  to 
the  Sta  of  Galilee,  and  the  people  brought  to  him 
the  lame,  blind,  dumb,  maimed,  and  he  healed  them. 
They  were  astonislied,  and  said,  "  He  hath  done  all 
things  well ;  he  maketh  even  the  deaf  to  hear  and  the 
dumb  to  speak."  Here  in  Decapolis  he  fed  four 
thousand.  Here  it  was  that  the  Pharisees  came  to 
him  asking  him  a  sign  from  heaven.  He  refused  to 
give  them  a  sign,  and  recrossed  the  lake.  We  next 
hear  of  him  in  Bethsaida,  where  he  healed  a  blind 
man.  Afterwards  he  is  with  his  disciples  at  Ceesarea 
Philippi,  where  Peter  confessed  his  divinity.  The 
Transfiguration  on  Mount  Hermon  followed.  Then 
he  returned  to  Galilee  and  Capernaum.  Soon  after 
he  started  to  Jerusalem.  The  Samaritan  villages  re- 
fused to  receive  him  because  they  saw  that  he  was 
bound  for  Jerusalem.  On  his  arrival  he  taught  in 
the  temple  and  the  people  came  to  him.  Then  he  left 
Judea  for  Perea;  there  he  healed  the  woman  who  had 
been  afflicted  for  eighteen  years.  There  he  heard  of 
the  death  of  Lazarus,  and  there  he  spoke  three  para- 
bles. The  Lost  Sheep,  The  Lost  Coin,  and  the  Prodi- 
gal Son. 

In  due  time  he  went  back  to  Bethany  and  restored 
Lazarus.  Afterwards  he  retired  to  Ephraim,  then  we 
find  him  in  the  border  of  Samaria,  then  in  Perea, 
then  in  Jericho,  and  then  in  Jerusalem.  He  is  con- 
stantly in  motion.  He  made  eight  circuits  of  Gali- 
lee.    He  is  repeatedly  in  Judea,  Samaria,  and  Perea. 


158  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

He  was  sent  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel, 
and  he  earnestly  sought  to  reach  ever}'  one. 

Because  the  field  was  large,  he  called  unto  him  his 
twelve  disciples,  and  gave  them  authority  over  un- 
clean spirits,  to  cast  them  out,  and  to  heal  all  man- 
ner of  disease  and  all  manner  of  sickness.  As  they 
went  forth  he  charged  them,  saying,  "  Go  not  into 
any  way  of  the  Gentiles,  and  enter  not  into  any  city 
of  the  Samaritans,  but  go  rather  to  the  lost  sheep  of 
the  house  of  Israel.  And  as  ye  go,  preach,  saying. 
The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand.  Heal  the  sick, 
raise  the  dead,  cleanse  the  lepers,  cast  out  demons; 
freely  ye  received,  freely  give."  They  were  to  take 
no  gold,  nor  silver,  nor  brass;  no  wallet,  neither  two 
coats,  nor  shoes,  nor  staff.  If  they  were  persecuted, 
in  this  city,  they  were  to  flee  into  the  next.  The  time 
was  short.  They  would  not  be  able  to  go  through  the 
cities  of  Israel  till  the  Son  of  man  Avould  come. 
Later  in  his  ministry  he  sent  out  seventy  others,  and 
sent  them  two  and  two  before  his  face  into  every  city 
and  place,  whither  he  himself  was  about  to  come. 
Their  instructions  were  similar  to  those  given  to  the 
twelve.  The  Master  said  to  them,  "He  that  heareth 
you  heareth  me;  and  he  that  rejecteth  jou  rejecteth 
me;  and  he  that  rejecteth  me  rejecteth  him  that  sent 
me."  The  people  must  hear  the  gospel.  In  order  to 
do  this  these  men  are  sent  out  into  every  city  and 
place  to  say  to  them,  "The  kingdom  of  God  is  come 
nigh  unto  you." 

II.  Let  us  consider  his  teaching  respecting  the 
salvation  of  the  vjorld.  We  hear  him  say,  "  And 
other  sheep  I  have  which  are  not  of  this  fold:  them 
also  I  must  bring,  and  they  shall  hear  my  voice;  and 
they  shall  become  one  flock,  one  Shepherd."  Our 
Lord  was  sent  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel. 
The   twelve   were  told  to  confine  their  labors   to   the 


MISSIONS  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  CHRIST.  159 

chosen  people.  But  all  along  there  are  intimations 
that  the  gospel  is  for  all  races  and  for  all  classes  and 
conditions  of  men.  The  wise  men  who  came  from  the 
East  were  guided  by  a  star  to  the  place  where  the 
young  child  was.  They  came  to  worship  him.  They 
opened  their  treasures  and  offered  unto  him  gifts, 
gold  and  frankincense  and  myrrh.  It  is  plain  that  the 
Divine  favor  rested  upon  them.  Afterwards  some 
Greeks  came  to  Jerusalem,  saying,  "We  would  see 
Jesus."  The  Lord  heard  of  their  request  and  was 
not  displeased.  Speaking  of  the  faith  of  the  centu- 
rion he  said,  "Verily  I  say  unto  you,  I  have  not  found 
so  great  faith,  no,  not  in  Israel.  And  I  say  unto  you 
that  many  shall  come  from  the  East  and  the  West, 
and  shall  sit  down  with  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and 
Jacob,  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  He  excited  the 
wrath  of  his  townsmen  by  telling  them  that  though 
there  were  many  widows  in  Israel  during  the  famine, 
Elijah  was  sent  to  none  of  them,  but  to  a  Gentile 
woman  in  Sarepta,  in  Sidon;  and  that  though  there 
were  many  lepers  in  Israel  in  the  time  of  Elisha,  none 
of  them  was  cleansed,  save  Naaman  the  Syrian,  Our 
Lord  was  telling  them  all  through  hi^ministry  that 
the  gospel  was  for  all  mankind.  He  \md  sheep  other 
than  those  of  the  house  of  Israel,  and  these  he  must 
bring.  Again  he  said,  "For  God  so  loved  the  world 
that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever 
believeth  on  him  should  not  perish  but  have  everlast- 
ing life.  For  God  sent  not  his  Son  into  the  world  to 
judge  the  world;  but  that  the  world  should  be  saved 
through  him."  "This  gospel  of  the  kingdom  shall 
be  preached  in  the  whole  world  for  a  testimony  to  all 
nations."  Our  Lord  taught  that  the  whole  world 
should  be  evangelized.  The  gospel  is  not  for  any  one 
race,  or  for  any  one  section  of  the  globe,  but  for  all 
races  and  for  all  sections.      Speaking  of  his  death  he 


160  MISSIONARY   ADDRESSES. 

said,  "And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will 
draw  all  men  unto  me."  After  his  death  and  resur- 
rection he  said,  "All  authority  hath  been  given  to  me 
in  heaven  and  on  earth.  Go  ye  therefore  a;nd  make 
disciples  of  all  the  nations,  baptizing  them  into  the 
name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Spirit;  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatso- 
ever I  commanded  you."  The  men  whom  he  called 
and  trained  he  named  apostles,  or  missionaries.  He 
said  to  them,  "As  the  Father  hath  sent  me,  even  so 
send  I  you."  He  knew  what  was  in  man,  he  knew 
how  to  reach  his  heart  and  conscience.  He  said  to 
his  apostles,  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach 
the  gospel  to  every  creature."  There  are  some  now 
who  say,  "Send  the  Bible  to  people."  That  was  not 
Christ's  method.  It  is  by  the  living  voice  of  living 
men  that  souls  are  won  to  the  belief  and  the  obedi- 
ence of  the  truth.  Our  Lord  did  not  remain  in  one 
place  and  allow  the  people  to  come  to  him.  He  did 
not  send  them  a  written  or  oral  message.  He  sought 
out  the  people  and  spoke  to  them.  He  would  have 
his  disciples  do  the  same.  Every  man  who  succeeds 
in  reaching  t^3  people  does  as  Christ  did.  He  goes 
after  them  and  finds  them.  The  Salvation  Army 
reaches  and  rescues  people  whom  the  churches  can- 
not save.  The  soldiers  go  into  the  slums,  into  the 
streets  and  lanes,  where  the  people  are,  and  lay  hold 
of  them  and  lift  them  up.  If  they  would  build  costly 
houses  of  worship  in  some  aristocratic  part  of  the 
city,  and  invite  the  people  to  come  and  hear,  they 
would  be  disappointed.  The  bells  may  ring  and  an- 
nounce the  services ;  papers  may  say  that  all  seats  are 
free;  but  the  unsaved  are  not  won  by  such  agencies. 
Our  Lord  knew  how  to  reach  the  masses.  He  said, 
"Go."  Sending  a  New  Testament  by  mail  or  by  ex- 
press does  not  obey  this  command.       Just  before  his 


MISSIONS  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  CHRIST.  161 

ascension  he  said  to  the  Eleven,  "But  you  shall  re- 
ceive power,  when  the  Holy  Spirit  is  come  upon  you; 
and  ye  shall  be  my  witnesses  both  in  Jerusalem,  and 
in  all  Judea  and  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost 
part  of  the  earth."  His  last  thought  on  earth  had  to 
do  with  the  evangelization  of  the  whole  world.  They 
were  thinking  about  the  restoration  of  the  kingdom 
to  Israel:  he  was  thinking  about  the  redemption  of  a 
lost  world.  After  his  coronation  he  appeared  to  Saul 
of  Tarsus  on  his  way  to  Damascus  in  the  interest  of 
this  work.  He  said:  "I  have  appeared  unto  thee,  to 
appoint  thee  a  minister  and  a  witness  both  of  the 
things  wherein  thou  hast  seen  me,  and  of  the  things 
wherein  I  will  appear  vmto  thee;  delivering  thee  from 
the  people,  and  from  the  Gentiles,  unto  whom  I  send 
thee,  to  open  their  eyes,  that  they  may  turn  from 
darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto 
God,  that  they  may  receive  remission  of  sins  and  an 
inheritance  among  them  that  are  sanctified  by  faith  in 
me."  The  glorified  Redeemer  was  so  deeply  inter- 
ested in  the  evangelization  of  the  world  that  he  ap- 
peared to  Saul  to  qualify  him  to  take  part  in  this 
work.  On  Patmos  he  appeared  to  Jdfejti  and  showed 
him  a  vision  of  redeemed  humanity.  John  heard 
every  created  thing  that  is  in  the  heaven  and  on  the 
earth,  and  under  the  earth,  and  in  the  sea,  and  all 
things  that  are  in  them,  saying,  "Unto  him  that  sit- 
teth  on  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb,  be  the  bless- 
ing, and  the  honor,  and  the  glory,  and  the  dominion, 
for  ever  and  ever." 

Our  Lord  was  a  missionary,  and  as  such  he  was 
faithful  to  Him  that  appointed  him.  The  Christian 
religion  is  essentially  missionary.  It  is  not  tribal  and 
local,  but  world-embracing.  Those  who  claim  to  be 
followers  of  Christ  must  be  missionary.  It  is  well  to 
11 


162  MISSIONARY   ADDRESSES. 

contend  earnestly  for  sound  doctrine  and  for  the 
ordinances  as  delivered  to  us;  but  let  us  not  think 
that  we  can  hold  fast  to  Christ  and  stand  aloof  from 
the  great  cause  of  missions.  Milman  calls  attention 
to  that  famous  book,  "The  Imitation  of  Christ,"  and 
states  that  never  was  a  misnomer  so  glaring,  if  rightly 
considered,  as  its  title.  "It  is  absolutely  and  entirely 
selfish  in  its  aims  as  in  its  acts.  Its  sole,  single  and 
exclusive  object  is  the  purification,  the  elevation  of 
the  individual  soul,  of  the  man  absolutely  isolated 
from  his  kind;  Avith  no  hopes  or  fears,  with  no  sym- 
pathies of  our  common  nature;  he  has  absolutely 
withdrawn  and  secluded  himself  not  only  from  the 
cares,  the  sins,  the  trials,  but  from  the  duties,  the 
connections,  the  moral  and  religious  fate  of  the 
world."  "That  which  distinguishes  Christ,  that 
which  distinguishes  Christ's  apostles,  that  which  dis- 
tinguishes Christ's  religion — the  love  of  man — is 
entirely  and  absolutely  left  out."  Had  this  been  the 
whole  of  Christianity,  our  Lord  and  his  apostles 
would  never  have  done  the  great  works  the  New  Tes- 
tament records.  They  might  have  dwelt  in  rapture 
upon  the  emotions  of  their  own  souls,  but  they  would 
not  have  turned  the  world  upside  down  and  recon- 
structed society.  "  The  Imitation  of  Christ"  begins 
in  self  and  terminates  in  self.  Its  axiom  is,  "  Let  the 
world  perish,  so  the  single  soul  can  escape  on  its  soli- 
tary plank  from  the  general  wreck."  The  saying 
concerning  Christ,  "He  went  about  doing  good,"  is 
not  in  the  monastic  gospel  of  this  pious  zealot.  Of 
feeding  the  hungry,  of  clothing  the  naked,  of  visiting 
the  prisoner,  there  is  profound,  total  silence.  The 
view  of  Thomas  h.  Kempis  is  the  view  of  some  now. 
But  it  is  a  mistaken  view.  The  Christ  Spirit  does  not 
drive  us  into  the  wilderness  and  away  from  humanity. 


MISSIONS  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  CHRIST.  163 

It  does  not  lead  us  to  think  solely  of  making  our  own 
calling  and  election  sure.     Whittier  says: 

' '  He  findeth  not  who  seeks  his  own , 
That  soul  is  lost  that '  s  saved  alone .  ' ' 

It  is  in  helping  to  seek  and  save  the  lost  that  we  save 
ourselves.  If  we  would  have  the  Spirit  of  Christ  in 
us  we  must  be  missionary.  We  must  do  what  we  can 
to  carry  the  gospel  to  those  who  sit  in  darkness,  and 
to  guide  their  feet  into  the  way  of  peace. 

"Pilgrim's  Progress"  is  one  of  the  most  popular 
religious  works  ever  written.  It  is  one  of  the  few 
books  Dr.  Johnson  wished  were  longer.  Bunyan  had 
the  same  conception  of  the  Christian  life  that  the 
author  of  "The  Imitation"  had.  His  hero  had  one 
end  in  view,  and  that  was  to  save  his  own  soul.  He 
did  not  take  his  wife  and  children  with  hiui  to  the 
celestial  city.  He  put  forth  no  effort  and  manifested 
no  desire  for  the  salvation  of  another  soul.  Bunyan's 
hero  is  named  "Christian."  It  is  implied  that  he  is 
a  typical  Christian.  He  was  a  typical  Christian  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  In  this  respect  he  is  unlike 
Christ.  The  New  Testament  portrays  him  as  a  Sav- 
ior. His  dominant  desire  was  to  seek  and  save  the 
lost.  His  enemies  said  of  him,  and  they  said  the 
truth,  "He  saved  others,  himself  he  could  not  save." 
Bunyan's  conception  is  as  wide  of  the  mark  as  is  the 
conception  of  Thomas  A  Kempis. 

To  this  end  Christ  died  and  lived  again,  that  he 
might  be  Lord  of  both  the  dead  and  the  living.  All 
authority  in  heaven  and  on  earth  has  been  given  to 
him.  On  his  brow  are  many  crowns;  on  his  vesture 
and  on  his  thigh  are  the  words,  "King  of  kings,  and 
Lord  of  lords."  Do  we  recognize  him  as  Lord  of  all? 
Are  his  example  and  commands  authoritative?  If  we 
have  any  doubt  on  this  score,  let  us  go  back  to  our 
baptism.     In  that  ordinance  Ave  vowed  eternal  fealty 


164  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

to  him.     We   pledged  him  that  we  would  love  him, 
and  trust  him,  and  serve  him  for  evermore.     He  says 
to  us,  "If  you  love  me,  keep  my  commandments." 
"You   are   my  friends  if  you  do  whatsoever  I  com- 
mand you."     His  last  command,  his  supreme  com- 
mand, was  that  we  should  evangelize  the  world.     We 
must  do  this,  or  be  recreant.     We  repeat  the  great 
words:     "  For  the  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us;  be- 
cause we  thus  judge,  that  one  died  for  all,  therefore 
all  died;    and   he   died  for   all,  that  they  who   live 
should  no  longer  live  unto  themselves,  but  unto  him 
who  for  their  sakes  died  and  rose  again."    If  the4ove 
of  Christ  does  constrain  us,  we  cannot  live  to  pleas© 
ourselves.     Our    great   question   will   not   be.    What 
shall  I  eat?  or  what  shall  I  drink?  or  vrhere withal 
shall  I  be  clothed?     It  will  rather  be,  How  can  I  send 
the  truth  to  those  who  have  never  heard  it?     If  his 
love  constrains  us,  our  deepest  desire  will  be  that  his 
kingdom  may  come,  and  that  his  will  may  be  done  on 
earth  as  it  is  done  in  heaven.     If  his  love  constrains 
us,  we  shall  be  willing  to  fill  up  that  which  is  behind 
of' his  sufferings,  and  make  it  our  chief  concern  to 
bear  the  gospel  into  all  the  world  and  to  every  crea- 
ture.    If,  on  the  contrary,  the  love  of  ease  and  pleas- 
ure constrains  us,  and  we  disregard  his  command,  we 
shall  have  to  answer  the  question,  "Why  call  ye  me 
Lord!  Lord  I  and  do  not  the  things  which  I  say?  " 


.  coLunBi'iN.  Errtxo- 


WORKERS   IX   CHINA  AND  JAPAN. 

1.    C.  E.  Holland  and  Family,  Wiihu,  China. 

2.    C.  E.  Garst  and  Family,  Tokyo,  Japan.  ,./-,,. 

3     W  P.  Bentley  and  Family,  Shanghai,  Chma. 


IX. 

MISSIONS  IN  THE  EARLY  CHUECH. 

Go  TE  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  the  whole  creation.— 
Mark  xvi.  15. 

Luke  tells  us  that  our  Lord,  after  continuing  all 
night  in  praj'er  to  God,  called  unto  him  his  disciples; 
and  of  them  he  chose  twelve,  whom  also  he  named 
apostles,  or  missionaries.  As  he  did  not  come  of  him- 
self, but  the  Father  sent  him,  so  they  did  not  under- 
take the  evangelization  of  the  world  of  their  own 
accord;  he  called,  educated  and  sent  them  to  do  it. 
He  said  to  them,  "As  the  Father  hath  sent  me,  even, 
so  send  I  you."  They  were  to  go  out  in  his  name, 
having  the  promise  of  his  presence,  to  begin  the  work 
of  creating  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth,  wherein 
dwells  righteousness.  I  wish  to  speak  of  Miadons  in 
the  Early   CJiurch.     Please  to  note — 

/.  That  the  apostles  and  disciples  were  slow  to  learn 
the  meaning  of  our  Lord's  last  command.  On  a  moun- 
tain in  Galilee,  he  said  to  the  Eleven:  "All  authorit}^ 
hath  been  given  to  me  in  heaven  and  on  earth.  Go  ye 
therefore,  and  make  disciples  of  all  the  nations,  bap- 
tizing them  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  teaching  them  to  observe 
all  things  whatsoever  I  commanded  you."  On  Mount 
Olivet  he  said  to  them,  "  But  ye  shall  receive  power, 
when  the  Hol}^  Spirit  is  come  upon  you;  and  ye  shall 
be  my  witnesses,  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judea 
and  Samaria,  and    unto   the   uttermost   part  of   the 

(165) 


166  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

earth."  They  were  strictly  charged  to  tarry  in  Jeru- 
salem till  they  were  clothed  with  power  from  on  high. 
They  were  to  begin  their  work  in  Jerusalem.  On  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  they  were  all  together  in  one  place, 
and  they  were  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  began  to 
speak  with  other  tongues  as  the  Spirit  gave  them 
utterance.  This  baptism  in  the  Holy  Spirit  equipped 
them  for  serv^ice.  They  were  now  qualified  to  go  into 
all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  the  whole  cre- 
ation. The  record  shows  that  they  were  disposed  to 
tarry  in  Jerusalem  long  after  they  had  received  the 
promise  of  the  Father.  "All  that  believed  were  to- 
gether, and  had  all  things  in  common,  and  sold  their 
possessions  and  goods,  and  parted  them  to  all,  accord- 
ing as  any  man  had  need.  And  day  by  day,  continu- 
ing with  one  accord  in  the  temple,  and  breaking  bread 
at  home,  they  did  take  their  food  with  gladness  and 
singleness  of  heart,  praising  God  and  having  favor 
with  all  the  people."  This  was  most  beautiful  and 
most  delightful;  it  was  a  most  blessed  fellowship; 
but  it  was  not  what  our  Lord  contemplated.  They 
had  lost  sight  of  the  great  world  lying  in  sin  and  wick- 
edness and  the  command  of  their  Lord  to  save  it. 
They  were  happy  and  popular,  but  the  nations  for 
whom  Christ  died  were  not  being  evangelized. 

We  would  think  that  the  apostles  would  be  the  first 
to  engage  in  missionary  work,  but  such  was  not  the 
case.  The  first  to  preach  in  Samaria  was  not  an  apos- 
tle, but  Philip,  one  of  the  seven  deacons  chosen  to 
serve  tables.  The  multitudes  gave  heed  to  the  things 
that  were  spoken  by  Philip,  when  they  heard  and  saw 
the  signs  which  he  did.  "  For  from  many  of  those 
who  had  unclean  spirits,  they  came  out,  crying  with  a 
loud  voice :  and  many  that  were  palsied,  and  that  were 
lame,  were  healed."  Where  were  the  apostles  all 
this  time?      They   were   in   Jerusalem.      When  they 


MISSIONS  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH.  167 

heard  that  Samaria  had  received  the  word  of  God, 
they  sent  unto  them  Peter  and  John;  who,  when  they 
were  come  down,  prayed  for  them,  that  they  might 
receive  the  Holy  Spirit;  for  as  yet  he  was  fallen  on 
none  of  them:  only  they  had  been  baptized  into  the 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Having  testified  and  spoken 
the  word  of  the  Lord,  Peter  and  John  returned  to 
Jerusalem.  Philip  went  toward  the  south,  where  he 
met  the  man  of  Ethiopia  and  preached  Jesus  to  him 
and  baptized  him.  Afterward  he  was  found  at  Azo- 
tus,  and  passing  through,  he  preached  the  gospel  to 
all  the  cities,  till  he  came  to  Ciesarea. — We  are  told 
that  there  arose  a  great  persecution  against  the 
church  which  was  in  Jerusalem,  and  they  Avere  all 
scattered  abroad  throughout  the  regions  of  Judea  and 
Samaria,  except  the  apostles.  That  is  a  significant  say- 
ing. It  would  seem  that  the  apostles  were  determined 
to  abide  in  Jerusalem  at  any  cost.  Those  that  were 
scattered  abroad  went  about  preaching  the  word. 
Thus  far  the  believers. were  all  huddled  in  Jerusalem. 
They  continued  to  meet  in  the  temple  and  to  break 
bread  at  home.  The  persecutions  that  followed  the 
death  of  Stephen  dispersed  them  far  and  wide.  They 
traveled  as  far  as  to  Phoenicia  and  Cyprus  and  Anti- 
och,  preaching  the  word  to  none  save  only  to  Jews. 
Persecution  drove  them  out  of  Jerusalem  and  broke 
up  their  happy  fellowship ;  the  spirit  of  truth  and  love 
made  them  speak;  but  their  narrow  prejudices  and 
misconception  of  the  gracious  purpose  of  their  Lord 
confined  their  preaching  to  those  of  their  own  nation. 
It  was  by  some  of  the  dispersed  believers  that  the 
gospel  was  carried  to  Antioch,  and  not  by  one  of  the 
twelve.  Among  the  cities  of  the  Empire  Antioch  was 
third  only  to  Rome  and  Alexandria;  it  was  a  center 
of  commerce  between  the  East  and  the  West.  It  was 
from  the  church  in  Antioch,  and  not  from  the  church 


168  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

in  Jerusalem,  that  the  greatest  missionary  movements 
of  that  age  sprang.  That  great  church  was  planted 
by  fugitives.  The  first  preachers  addressed  the  Jews 
only.  Afterward  some  men  from  Cyprus  and  Cyrene 
spoke  to  the  Greeks,  preaching  the  Lord  Jesus.  "And 
the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  with  them;  and  a  great 
multitude  turned  unto  the  Lord."  The  church  in 
Jerusalem  heard  of  the  triumph  of  the  gospel  in  Anti- 
och  and  sent  Barnabas  to  superintend  the  work.  He 
was  a  good  man,  and  fall  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  of 
faith;  and  he  exhorted  them  all  that  with  purpose  of 
heart  they  would  cleave  unto  the  Lord:  and  much 
people  was  added  to  the  saved.  The  work  was  so 
great  that  Barnabas  needed  an  associate.  He  went  to 
Tarsus  to  seek  Saul;  and  when  he  found  him,  he 
brought  him  to  Antioch.  It  was  here,  and  not  in 
Jerusalem,  that  the  disciples  were  first  called  Chris- 
tians. It  was  this  church,  made  up  largely  of  Greeks 
or  Grecian  Jews,  and  not  the  parent  church,  that,  in 
the  providence  of  God,  became  the  center  of  mission- 
ary elfort.  From  Antioch  the  streams  of  the  water  of 
life  flowed  east  and  west  and  north  and  south,  even  to 
the  very  ends  of  the  earth. 

It  would  seem  that  every  step  in  the  direction  of 
world-wide  evangelism  was  taken  under  the  guid- 
ance and  impulsion  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Wiien  the 
time  came  for  the  Gentiles  to  hear  the  gospel,  Cor- 
nelius was  instructed  by  the  angel  of  the  Lord  to  send 
to  Joppa  for  Peter.  The  angel  told  him  where  Peter 
could  be  found.  Peter  was  first  among  the  apostles. 
He  had  the  keys  of  the  Kingdom.  He  had  heard  the 
commission  and  had  received  the  Holy  Spirit.  He 
was  the  spokesman  on  the  day  of  Peatecost,  and 
quoted  Joel's  words,  "  Whosoever  shall  call  on  the 
name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved."  But  with  all  this, 
Peter  was  not  prepared  to  preach  to  a  Gentile  house- 


MISSIONS  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH.  169 

hold.  He  was  not  satisfied  that  all  men  everywhere 
were  to  hear  the  gospel  and  to  believe.  It  was  neces- 
sary for  the  Lord  to  show  him  a  vision,  and  for  the 
Spirit  to  say  to  him  most  explicitly,  "But  arise,  and 
get  thee  down,  and  go  with  them,  nothing  doubting: 
for  I  have  sent  them."  The  disciples  who  accompa- 
nied Peter  were  amazed,  because  that  on  the  Gentiles 
also  was  poured  out  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  On 
his  return  to  eTeru^alem  some  contended  with  him, 
saying,  "Thou  wentest  in  to  men  uncircuuicised 
and  didst  eat  with  them."  This  whole  transaction 
was  carried  on  under  the  Divine  direction.  It  was 
God  that  opened  the  door  of  faith  to  the  Gentiles. 
Without  some  miraculous  interposition,  it  may*  be 
that  Peter  would  never  have  consented  to  preach  to 
the  heathen.  Even  now  he  was  not  entirely  satisfied 
that  all  distinctions  of  race  were  done  away  in  Christ. 
Afterwards  in  Antioch  he  ate  with  the  Gentiles  before 
that  certain  came  from  James;  but  when  they  came 
he  drew  back  and  separated  himself,  fearing  them 
that  were  of  the  circumcision.  And  the  rest  of  the 
Jews  dissembled  likewise  with  him;  insomuch  that 
even  Barnabas  was  carried  away  with  their  dissimula- 
tion. Paul  resisted  Peter  to  the  face,  because  he 
stood  condemned.  If  Peter  was  convinced  that  God 
was  no  respecter  of  persons,  he  ought  to  have  made 
no  difference  himself  between  the  Jew  and  the  Gen- 
tile. There  was  no  reason  why  he  should  fear  James 
and  dissemble.  It  appears  from  Paul's  statement  in 
Galatians  that  Peter  and  James  and  John  preferred 
to  work  among  their  own  countrymen.  They  gave 
Paul  and  Barnabas  the  right  hand  of  fellowship,  with 
the  understanding  that  they  should  go  to  the  Gentiles, 
while  Peter,  James  and  John  went  to  the  circum- 
cision.    Every  movement   looking  toward  the  evan- 


170  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

gelization  of  the  whole  wide  world  was  made  under 
an  impulse  from  the  Divine  Spirit. 

Paul  was  the  greatest  missionary  of  his  age  or  of 
any  age,  but  even  Paul  did  not  see  the  whole  truth  at 
once.  The  glorified  Christ  told  him  plainly  what  he 
wanted  him  to  do.  He  was  to  bear  his  name  before 
Gentiles  and  kings  and  the  children  of  Israel.  But 
it  is  clear  that  Paul  wanted  to  stay  in  Jerusalem  and 
preach.  In  his  defense  made  on  the  castle  stairs  he 
says  that  being  in  a  trance  he  heard  the  Lord  say  to 
him,  "Make  haste,  and  get  thee  quickly  out  of  Jeru- 
salem: because  they  will  not  receive  of  thee  testi- 
mony concerning  me."  And  he  said,  "Lord,  they 
themselves  know  that  I  imprisoned  and  beat  in  every 
synagogue  them  that  believed  on  thee;  and  when  the 
blood  of  Stephen  thy  witness  was  shed,  I  also  was 
standing  by  and  consenting,  and  keeping  the  garments 
of  them  that  slew  him."  And  the  Lord  replied, 
"Depart:  for  I  will  send  thee  forth  far  hence  unto  the 
Gentiles."  He  wanted  to  stay  in  Jerusalem;  but  the 
Lord  thrust  him  out  into  the  wide  field  of  the  heathen 
world.  There  is  some  room  for  doubt  respecting 
James;  it  may  be  that  he  was  a  Jew  to  the  last;  but 
there  is  no  room  for  doubt  respecting  Paul.  He  be- 
came a  missionary  to  the  heathen,  and  gloried  in  his 
office.  Paul  was  a  Hebrew  of  Hebrews,  a  Pharisee 
and  the  son  of  a  Pharisee,  and  it  is  not  strange  that 
he  did  not  instantly  apprehend  the  purpose  for  which 
he  had  been  apprehended  of  Christ.  Gradually, 
however,  the  truth  took  possession  of  his  whole 
being. 

In  his  missionary  career  Paul  was  led  on  step  by 
step  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  He  did  not  choose  this 
work;  he  was  called  to  it.  He  did  not  venture  to  ad- 
vance of  his  own  accord;  he  was  led  forward.  He  and 
Barnabas  spent  a  whole  year  in  Antioch.      It  would 


MISSIONS  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH.  171 

seein  that  they  were  disposed  to  remain  there  perma- 
nently. The  church  was  hirge  and  prosperous.  The 
Spirit  would  not  have  it  so.  He  said,  "Separate  me 
Barnabas  and  Saul  for  the  work  whereunto  I  have 
called  them."  They  were  the  ablest  teachers  in  the 
church.  If  ever  men  were  needed  in  a  place,  they 
were  needed  in  Antioch,  but  they  were  called  to  bear 
the  gospel  into  the  regions  beyond.  Paul  did  not  vol- 
unteer for  this  work ;  the  Spirit  sent  him  to  do  it. 
When  he  had  passed  through  Phrygia  and  Galatia  and 
had  almost  reached  the  western  part  of  that  conti- 
nent, he  wanted  to  return  by  a  southern  route.  Be- 
ing forbidden  to  go  in  that  direction,  he  tried  to  find 
a  northern  passage  through  Bithynia,  but  the  Spirit 
of  Jesus  suffered  him  not.  It  would  seem  that  Paul 
thought  the  gospel  was  for  Asia;  the  Spirit  hedged 
him  in  on  both  sides  and  guided  him  on  to  Troas. 
Here  he  saw  in  a  vision  a  man  of  Macedonia,  and 
heard  him  say,  "Come  over  and  help  us."  The  gos- 
pel was  not  for  Palestine  or  Asia  only,  but  for  the 
whole  world  and  for  every  creature.  It  is  for  every 
continent  and  for  every  island  of  the  sea.  How  well 
Paul  learned  that  lesson  his  subsequent  history  shows. 
AYe  find  him  in  Philippi,  in  Corinth,  in  Athens,  in 
Kome;  it  was  his  purpose  to  visit  Spain.  We  hear 
him  say,  "For  in  one  Spirit  have  we  all  been  bap- 
tized into  one  body,  and  have  all  been  made  to  drink 
into  one  spirit,  whether  we  be  bond  or  free,  whether 
we  be  Jew  or  Greek." 

A  professor  in  Chicago  University  holds  that  our 
Lord  could  not  have  charged  his  disciples  to  evangel- 
ize the  world.  The  fact  that  so  long  a  time  passed 
with  no  effort  on  their  part  to  obey  this  command, 
satisfies  him  that  they  had  no  knowledge  of  such  a 
duty.  A  simpler  and  more  satisfactory  explanation 
of  their  failure  to  undertake  this  work  more  prompt- 


172  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

ly  is  at  hand.  Certain  it  is,  however,  that  the  disci- 
ples were  slow  to  grasp  the  truth  that  the  gospel  is 
for  the  whole  race,  and  not  for  a  single  nation.  The 
truth  dawned  on  them  gradually,  like  the  morning, 
and  not  instantaneously,  like  a  flash  of  lightning. 
The  conception  was  too  vast  and  too  grand  for  them 
to  take  it  in  at  once.  Nor  need  this  surprise  us.  We 
hold  it  as  a  self-evident  truth  that  all  men  are  created 
equal;  we  speak  eloquently  of  the  brotherhood  of 
man;  we  glory  in  the  thought  that  Christ  abolished 
all  partition  walls  between  races  and  classes;  but 
some  of  us  are  not  any  more  eager  to  carry  the  gospel 
into  the  dark  lands  than  were  the  early  Christians. 
It  is  more  comfortable  to  abide  at  home  and  to  con- 
tinue steadfastly  in  the  apostles'  doctrine  and  fellow- 
ship, in  the  breaking  of  bread  and  the  prayers. 
Christ's  conception  is  immeasurably  grander  than  that 
of  Alexander  or  Napoleon;  it  need  not  surprise  us, 
therefore,  that  it  has  not  yet  taken  captive  the  minds 
and  hearts  of  the  majority  of  Christian  people, 

//.  As  the  apostles  and  disciples  came  to  understand 
the  last  coinmand  of  their  Lord,  they  steadfastly  soiujht 
to  obey  it.  They  began  to  preach  on  Pentecost.  They 
kept  on  preaching.  The  authorities  said,  "You  have 
filled  Jerusalem  with  your  teaching,  and  intend  to 
bring  this  man's  blood  on  us,"  When  charged  not  to 
speak  at  all,  nor  teach  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  Peter 
and  John  said,  "Whether  it  be  right  to  hearken  unto 
you  rather  than  unto  God,  judge  ye;  for  we  cannot 
but  speak  the  things  which  we  saw  and  heard,"  The 
truth  was  like  a  burning  fire  shut  up  in  their  bones, 
and  they  could  not  be  silent.  Preaching  was  the 
work  of  that  period.  The  apostles,  the  deacons,  the 
members  who  filled  no  office,  all  bore  witness  to  the 
resurrection  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  The  hand  of  perse- 
cution  scattered   the   fire,  hoping  to   extinguish   it;, 


MISSIONS  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH.  173 

instead,  the  live  coals  became  centers  of  other  iSres, 
and  thus  many  a  district  was  ablaze  with  the  gospel. 
Stephen,  one  of  the  seven  deacons,  was  full  of  grace 
and  power,  and  wrought  great  wonders  and  signs 
among  the  people.  Those  that  disputed  witt  him 
were  not  able  to  withstand  the  wisdom  and  the  Spirit 
by  which  he  spoke.  His  death  led  direct!}'  to  the  dis- 
persion of  the  church,  and  indirectly  to  the  conver- 
sion of  Saul  of  Tarsus,  two  capital  facts  in  the  history 
of  the  evangelism  of  that  time.  Early  in  the  history 
of  the  church  the  gospel  was  preached  throughout 
Judea,  Galilee,  Samaria,  Damascus,  Cyrene,  Phoenicia 
and  Antioch.  We  are  told  that  as  Peter  went 
throughout  all  parts,  he  came  down  also  to  the 
saints  that  dwelt  at  Lydda.  Afterwards  we  find  him 
spending  some  time  in  Joppa;  later  still  he  is  in 
Csesarea.  Doubtless  it  was  the  missionary  activity  of 
this  period  that  Mark  had  in  mind  when  he  wrote, 
"And  they  wont  forth,  preached  everywhere,  the 
Lord  working  with  them,  and  confirming  the  word  by 
the  signs  that  followed." 

Paul  surpassed  all  the  men  of  his  time  in  zeal  and 
service  and  suffering.  He  made  three  extended  mis- 
sionary tours.  A  great  part  of  the  Book  of  Acts  is 
filled  with  the  record  of  his  evangelistic  labors.  On 
the  first  tour  he  had  Barnabas  as  an  associate.  They 
preached  in  Cyprus,  Perga,  Antioch  in  Pisidia,  Ico- 
nium,  Lystra,  Derbe,  and  Attalia.  At  Paphos  they 
were  opposed  by  Elymas  the  sorcerer.  Here  Sergius 
Paulus,  the  proconsul,  a  man  of  understanding,  was 
among  the  believer^.  At  Antioch  in  Pisidia  the  eTews 
were  jealous  when  they  saw  the  multitudes,  and  con- 
tradicted the  things  spoken  by  Paul,  and  blasphemed. 
He  said  to  them,  "It  was  necessary  that  the  word  of 
God  should  first  be  spoken  to  you.  Seeing  ye  thrust 
it  from  you,  and  judge  yourselves  unworthy  of  eternal 


174  MISSIONARY    ADDRESSES. 

life,,  lo,  we  turn  to  the  Gentiles.  For  so  hath  God 
commanded  us,  saying,  I  have  set  tiiee  for  a  light  of 
the  Gentiles,  that  thou  shouldest  be  for  salvation 
unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth."  At  Lystra 
they  healed  a  man  who  had  been  a  cripple  from  his 
birth.  The  people  cried  out  in  joy,  "The  gods  are 
come  down  to  us  in  the  likeness  of  men."  They 
bought  oxen  and  garlands,  and  were  about  to  offer 
sacrifices  to  them.  Afterwards  they  stoned  Paul,  and 
dragged  him  out  of  the  city,  supposing  that  he  was 
dead.  Reaching  Derbe  and  Attalia,  they  returned  to 
Antioch  and  rehearsed  all  that  God  had  done  with 
them,  and  how  he  had  opened  a  door  of  faith  to  the 
Gentiles. — On  his  second  tour  Paul  had  Silas  for  an 
associate.  They  went  through  Syria  and  Cilicia  con- 
firming the  churches.  They  came  also  to  Derbe, 
Lystra,  Phrygia,  Galatia,  Troas,  Samothracia,  Neapo- 
lis,  Philippi,  Aniphipolis,  Apol Ionia,  Thessalonica, 
Berea,  Athens,  Corinth,  Ephesus,  Csesarea,  Jerusa- 
lem, and  back  to  Antioch.  They  entered  Europe  in 
response  to  the  call  of  the  man  of  Macedonia.  But 
they  found  no  man  waiting  to  welcome  them.  The 
man  of  Macedonia  was  a  woman,  Lydia  by  name, 
from  Thyatira.  In  Philippi  Paul  and  Silas  were 
arrested,  scourged,  and  thrust  into  the  innermost 
prison,  and  their  feet  made  fast  in  the  stocks.  Here 
the  jailer  and  his  family  believed  and  were  baptized. 
On  his  third  tour  Paul  went  through  Galatia,  Phrygia, 
and  preached  in  Ephesus,  Corinth,  Macedonia,  Troas, 
Assos,  Miletus,  Tyre,  CfBsarea  and  Jerusalem.  He 
was  told  by  the  Spirit  that  in  ever}'  city  bonds  and 
afflictions  awaited  him,  but  none  of  these  things 
moved  him.  Neither  did  he  count  his  life  as  of  any 
account  to  himself,  if  he  could  finish  his  course  with 
joy  and  the  ministry  which  he  had  received  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  to  testify  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God. 


MISSIONS  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH.  175 

Paul  remained  for  a  time  in  important  cities.  From 
these  centers  he  and  his  associates  evangelized  the 
adjacent  country.  He  spent  two  years  in  Ephesus. 
One  result  of  this  was  that  all  in  proconsular  Asia 
heard  the  word  of  the  Lord,  both  Jews  and  Greeks. 
In  like  manner  from  Antioch  in  Pisidia  the  word  of 
the  Lord  was  spread  abroad  throughout  all  that 
region.  When  Paul  knew  his  Lord's  will,  he  has- 
tened to  obey  it.  He  said:  "Inasmuch,  then,  as  I 
am  an  apostle  of  Gentiles,  I  glorify  my  ministry." 
"Unto  me  who  am  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints,  is 
this  grace  given,  that  I  should  preach  among  the 
heathen  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ."  "I  am 
debtor  both  to  Greeks  and  to  barbarians,  both  to  the 
wise  and  to  the  foolish."  He  was  eager  to  have  some 
fruit  in  Rome,  even  as  in  other  parts  of  the  Gentile 
world.  The  Jew  was  to  hear  first;  but  the  Greek 
also.  The  Jew  felt  that  one  Jew  was  worth  more 
than  the  whole  Gentile  world;  Paul  felt  that  there 
was  no  difference  between  them ;  for  the  same  Lord 
is  Lord  of  all,  and  is  rich  unto  all  them  that  call  upon 
him.  "Is  God  the  God  of  Jews  only?  Is  he  not  the 
God  of  Gentiles  also?  Yea,  of  Gentiles  also;  if  so 
be  that  God  is  one,  and  he  shall  justify  the  circumcis- 
ion by  faith,  and  the  uncircumcision  through  faith." 
"For  there  is  one  God,  one  Mediator  also  between 
God  and  men,  himself  man,  Christ  Jesus,  who  gave 
himself  a  ransom  for  all;  the  testimony  to  be  borne 
in  its  own  times;  whereunto  I  was  appointed  a 
preacher  and  an  apostle  (I  speak  the  truth,  I  lie  not), 
a  teacher  of  the  Gentiles  in  faith  and  truth."  He 
yearned  for  the  salvation  of  his  own  people.  His 
heart's  desire  and  supplication  to  God  for  them  is, 
that  they  maybe  saved.  "For  I  could  wish  that  I 
myself  were  anathema  from  Christ  for  my  brethren's 
sake,  my  kinsmen  according  to   the  flesh;  who   are 


176  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

Israelites;  whose  is  the  adoption,  and  the  gh)ry,  and 
the  covenants,  and  the  giving  of  the  law,  and  the 
service  of  God,  and  the  promises;  whose  are  the 
fathers,  and  of  whom  is  Christ  concerning  the  flesh, 
who  is  over  all,  God  blessed  forever."  He  was 
ambitious  to  preach  the  gospel  in  all  creation  under 
heaven.  "For  I  will  not  dare  to  speak  of  any  things 
save  those  which  Christ  wrought  through  me,  for  the 
obedience  of  the  Gentiles,  by  word  and  deed,  in  the 
power  of  signs  and  wonders,  in  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit;  so  that  from  Jerusalem,  and  round  about  even 
unto  Illyricum,  I  have  fully  preached  the  gospel  of 
Christ;  yea,  making  it  my  aim  so  to  jd reach  the  gos- 
2)el,  not  where  Christ  was  already  named,  that  I  might 
not  build  upon  another  man's  foundation;  but  as  it  is 
written.  They  shall  see,  to  whom  no  tidings  of  him 
came,  and  they  who  have  not  heard  shall  under- 
stand."— Peter  wrote  to  the  elect  in  Pontus,  Galatia, 
Cappadocia,  Asia  and  Bithynia.  We  do  not  know  so 
much  about  the  other  apostles,  but  it  is  certain  they 
were  all  engaged  in  missionary  work.  The  angel  that 
John  saw  flying  in  mid-heaven  having  an  eternal  gos- 
pel to  preach  to  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth,  and  to 
every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  tribe,  and  people,  was 
a  fitting  symbol  of  the  church  of  that  time.  What- 
ever else  was  true  of  the  early  church,  it  was  a  mis- 
sionary church  first  and  last.  Of  one  church  it  is 
said:  "  For  from  you  hath  sounded  forth  the  word  of 
the  Lord,  not  only  in  Macedonia  and  Achaia,  but  in 
every  place  your  faith  to  God-ward  is  gone  forth:  so 
that  we  need  not  to  speak  anything."  Every  prose- 
lyte was  a  propagandist;  every  church  was  a  training- 
school  and  a  missionary  center,  radiating  gospel  light 
far  and  near.  Church  historians  tell  us  that  in  the 
apostolic  age  the  gospel  was  preached  as  far  as  the 
limits  of  the  Roman  empire,  and  in  some  places  far 


MISSIONS  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH.  177 

l3eyond  those  limits.  The  whole  church  was  one  vast 
missionary  organization.  Every  convert  was  a  wit- 
ness for  Christ.  The  humblest  was  often  the  most 
powerful:  "It  was  an  obscure  old  man  that  gave 
Justin  to  the  church."  In  all  places  and  in  all  sea- 
sons the  church  carried  on  its  missionary  work.  It 
was  ever  active  and  aggressive.  Between  it  and  the 
pagan  world  the  opposition  was  radical  and  absolute. 
Wherever  a  Christian  set  foot,  there  he  planted  the 
Cross,  and  gathered  around  him  the  nucleus  of  a 
church.  A  new  convert  became  the  missionary  of  his 
family.  There  was  no  distinction  between  home  and 
foreign  missions.  A  Christian  had  but  to  cross  his 
own  threshold  and  walk  the  public  streets  of  his 
own  cit}',  and  found  a  pagan  people  at  his  own  doors 
to  be  converted.  In  this  period  the  gospel  extended 
as  far  as  the  magnificent  roads  which  military  require- 
ments and  the  commerce  of  the  times  called  into 
being;  as  far  as  the  Greek  language  Avas  diffused,  and 
as  far  as  the  Jewish  dispersion  was  extended.  In 
some  places  it  exceeded  these  limits;  but  these  in  the 
main  bounded  the  field  of  its  triumphs. 

111.  Please  to  note  some  of  the  magnificent  results 
that  croivned  the  missionaru  activity  of  the  early 
chui'ch.  The  Book  of  Acts  records  a  few  of  the  tri- 
umphs won.  On  Pentecost  3,000  were  added.  Soon 
after  the  number  of  men  was  5,000.  A  little  later  we 
read  that  believers  were  the  more  added  to  the  Lord, 
multitudes  both  of  men  and  women.  Again  we  are 
told  that  the  disciples  in  Jerusalem  multiplied  greatly, 
and  that  a  great  company  of  the  priests  became  obedi- 
ent unto  the  faith.  We  are  told  that  the  church 
throughout  all  Judea  and  Galilee  and  Samaria  had 
peace,  being  edified,  and  walking  in  the  fear  of  the 
Lord  and  in  the  comfort  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  was  mul- 
13 


178  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

tiplied.  The  church  spread  like  a  banyan  tree:  the 
branches  took  root  and  became  independent  centers 
of  life  and  power.  In  Joppa  many  believed  in  the 
Lord.  All  that  dwelt  at  Lydda  and  Sharon  turned  to 
the  Lord.  In  Antioch  a  great  number  of  them  that 
believed  turned  to  the  Lord.  In  Iconium  a  great 
multitude,  both  of  Jews  and  Greeks,  believed.  In 
Derbe  many  disciples  were  made.  In  Thessalonica 
so)ne  of  the  Jews  were  persuaded,  and  consorted  with 
Paul  and  Silas,  and  of  the  devout  Greeks  a  great  mul- 
titude, and  of  the  chief  women  not  a  few.  In  that 
city  Paul  and  Barnabas  were  spoken  of  as  the  men 
who  had  turned  the  world  upside  down.  In  Corinth 
many  hearing,  believed,  and  were  baptized.  In  Berea 
many  of  the  Jews  believed,  also  of  the  Greek  women 
of  honorable  estate,  and  of  men.  In  Ephesus  the 
word  of  the  Lord  grew  mightily  and  prevailed.  There 
it  was  that  Demetrius  said  to  the  silversmiths:  "You 
see  and  hear,  that  not  alone  at  Ephesus,  but  almost 
throughout  all  Asia,  this  Paul  hath  persuaded  and 
turned  away  muvJi  people."  Converts  are  mentioned 
in  Tyre,  Caesarea,  Troas,  Athens,  Philippi,  Lystra 
and  Damascus.  Paul  speaks  of  the  gospel  as  bearing 
fruit  in  all  the  world,  and  states  that  it  had  been 
preached  in  all  creation  under  heaven.  The  brethren 
in  Jerusalem  said  to  Paul:  "You  see  how  many 
myriads  there  are  among  the  Jews  of  them  who  have 
believed." 

Friends  and  foes  agree  concerning  the  success  of 
the  gospel  in  this  age.  Thus  Tacitus  says:  "This 
detestable  superstition  broke  out  on  all  sides,  not 
only  in  Judea,  but  in  the  city  of  Rome  itself.  At 
first,  they  only  were  apprehended  who  confessed  them- 
selves of  that  sect;  afterward  a  vast  multitude  was 
discovered  by  them."  Pliny  says:  "  Suspending  all 
judicial  proceedings,  I   have  recourse  to  you  for  ad- 


MISSIONS  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH.  179 

vice;  for  it  has  appeared  to  me  a  matter  highly  de- 
serving consideration,  especially  on  account  of  the 
great  number  of  persons  who  are  in  danger  of  suffer- 
ing; for  many  of  all  ages,  and  of  every  rank,  of  both 
sexes  alike,  are  accused,  and  will  be  accused.  Nor 
has  the  contagion  of  this  superstition  seized  cities 
only,  but  the  lesser  towns  also,  and  the  open  country." 
According  to  Pliny  the  temples  were  forsaken  and 
the  sacred  solemnities  were  ignored,  and  the  victims 
found  few  purchasers.  Tertullian  says:  "We  are 
but  of  yesterday,  and,  lo,  we  fill  the  whole  empire — 
your  cities,  your  islands,  your  fortresses,  your  munic- 
ipalities, your  councils,  nay,  even  the  camp,  the  sec- 
tions, the  palace, the  Senate,  the  forum."  And  again: 
"In  whom  have  all  the  nations  believed,  but  in  the 
Christ  who  is  already  come?  In  him  believe  the  Par- 
thians,  the  Medes,  the  Elamites,  the  dwellers  in  Mes- 
opotamia, in  Armenia,  Phrygia,  Cappadocia,  in  Pon- 
tus,  and  Asia,  in  Pamphylia,  in  Egypt,  and  in  the 
parts  of  Libya  beyond  Cyrene,  inhabited  by  Romans, 
Jews,  and  Proselytes.  This  is  the  faith  of  several 
tribes  of  Getulians,  the  Moors,  the  Spaniards,  and 
the  various  nations  of  Gaul.  The  parts  of  Britain, 
inaccessible  to  the  Romans,  but  subject  to  Christ, 
hold  the  same  faith,  as  do  also  the  Sarmatians,  the 
Dacians,  the  Germans,  the  Sythians,  and  many  other 
nations  in  provinces  and  islands  unknown  to  us,  and 
which  we  must  fail  to  enumerate."  Justin  Martyr 
says:  "There  is  not  a  single  race  of  men,  barbarians, 
Greek,  or  by  whatever  name  they  may  be  called,  war- 
like or  nomadic,  homeless  or  dwelling  in  tents,  or 
leading  a  pastoral  life,  among  whom  prayers  and 
thanksgiving  are  not  offered  in  the  name  of  Jesus  the 
crucified,  to  the  Father  and  Creator  of  all  things." 
Gibbon  says:  "While  the  Roman  Empire  was  in- 
vaded by  open  violence,  or  undermined  by  slow  decay^ 


180  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

a  pure  and  humble  religion  gently  insinuated  itself 
into  the  minds  of  men,  grew  up  in  silence  and  ob- 
scurity, derived  new  vigor  from  opposition,  and  final- 
ly erected  the  triumphant  banner  of  the  Cross  on  the 
ruins  of  the  Capitol."  Pressense  describes  the  steady 
forward  march  of  the  church  which  no  obstacle  could 
impede,  and  no  danger  daunt.  "The  emissaries  of 
the  church  go  far  and  wide  over  the  vast  field  open  to 
Christian  labor.  The  gospel  is  spread  over  the  Avhole 
of  Asia  Minor;  it  reaches  the  borders  of  India;  pen- 
etrates the  deserts  of  Africa;  and  touches  the  heart 
of  Egyptian  Africa.  The  great  Apostle  and  his  com- 
panions carried  it  into  Greece,  to  the  very  center  of 
ancient  civilization.  It  reaches  the  very  capital  of 
the  empire.  Everywhere  fiourishing  churches  flame 
out  like  beacons  through  the  darkness  of  the  pagan 
night."  There  was  not  a  single  province  of  Asia 
Minor  which  had  not  been  furrowed  in  every  direc- 
tion, and  where  the  missionaries  had  not  gained  some 
fruit.  Christianity  reached  the  shores  of  the  Euxine, 
and  founded  churches  in  Pontus  and  Paphkigonia.  It 
sent  missionaries  as  far  as  the  Hellespont,  and  into 
the  regions  where  once  was  Troy.  The  islands  bor- 
dering the  coast  of  Asia — Rhodes,  Cos,  Lemnos, 
Corcyra,  received  the  gospel  from  the  main  land. 
Early  in  the  fourth  century,  Constantino  was  num- 
bered atnong  the  believers.  He  saw  the  Cross  on  the 
sky,  and  beneath  it  the  words,  "In  this  sign  thou 
shalt  conquer."  At  the  Milvian  bridge  Maxentius 
was  overthrown  by  Constantine.  The  empire  be- 
came Christian.  This  single  fact  speaks  volumes.  It 
tells,  as  nothing  else  could,  how  the  gospel  made  its 
way  in  spite  of  every  kind  of  opposition. 

The  persecutions  authorized  by  the  emperors  give 
us  an  insight  into  the  missionary  activity  and  success 
of  that  period.    At  first  Christianity  was  tolerated  and 


MISSIONS  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH.  181 

ignored  on  account  of  its  weakness.  Its  Founder  died 
on  the  Cross.  His  followers  had  no  wealth  and  no 
armies.  Their  conquests  were  among  slaves,  for  the 
most  part.  The  government  felt  that  it  could  afford 
to  despise  such  a  religion.  But  when  ten  emperors, 
and  among  them  such  men  as  Trajan,  Aurelius,  Sev- 
erus,  and  Diocletian,  thought  it  expedient  to  crush 
this  religion  out  of  existence,  and  used  all  the  power 
in  their  hands  for  this  purpose,  we  begin  to  under- 
stand that  Christianity  had  assumed  colossal  propor- 
tions. It  was  filling  the  earth;  it  was  turning  the 
world  upside  down. 

The  Christian  religion,  it  has  been  said,  is  by  its 
very  nature  missionary,  progressive,  world-embracing; 
it  would  cease  to  exist  if  it  ceased  to  be  missionary, 
if  it  disregarded  the  parting  injunction  of  its  Found- 
er, "Go  ye  therefore,  and  make  disciples  of  all  the 
nations,  baptizing  them  into  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  teaching  them 
to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  commanded  you; 
and  lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of 
the  world."  Christ  tasted  death  for  every  man.  He 
instructed  his  disciples  to  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature  under  heaven.  The  promise  is,  "Whosoever 
shall  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved." 
But  how  shall  they  call  on  him  in  whom  they  have 
not  believed?  And  how  shall  they  believe  in  him  of 
whom  they  have  not  heard?  And  how  shall  they  hear 
without  a  preacher?  And  how  shall  they  preach  ex- 
cept they  be  sent?  Even  as  it  is  written.  How  beau- 
tiful arc  the  feet  of  them  that  bring  glad  tidings  of 
good  things?  But  all  will  not  believe.  Be  it  so. 
Still  it  is  the  duty  of  those  who  have  the  truth  to  pro- 
claim it.  Isaiah  is  very  bold,  and  saith,  "I  was  found 
of  them  that  sought  me  not.  I  became  manifest  to 
them  that  asked  not  of  me."     The  apostles  went  in 


183  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

all  directions  and  preached,  whether  the  people  would 
hear  or  whether  they  would  forbear.  The  gospel  is 
for  all  men  everywhere,  and  those  who  receive  it  are 
under  obligation  to  bear  it  to  those  who  have  it  not; 
otherwise  they  will  not  be  able  to  retain  it  themselves. 
Christianity  is  therefore  essentially  a  missionary  re- 
ligion. The  missionary  idea  is  a  fundamental  idea  of 
the  gospel. 

Our  Lord  was  a  missionary.  His  apostles  were 
missionaries.  The  New  Testament  knows  of  two 
classes  only:  Those  who  go,  and  those  who  send. 
The  followers  of  Christ  everywhere  ought  to  be  mis- 
sionaries. Eighteen  centuries  have  come  and  gone 
since  the  last  apostle  fell  asleep,  and  two-thirds  of 
the  race  are  living  and  dying  without  God  and  with- 
out hope.  AYe  owe  it  to  them  to  send  them  the  gos- 
pel, which  is  able  to  make  them  wise  unto  salvation. 
The  church  has  the  men  and  the  money  to  do  this  in 
a  single  generation.  Lord  Shaftesbury  said  that  the 
gospel  might  have  been  proclaimed  to  all  nations  a 
dozen  times  over,  if  the  Christian  Church  had  been 
faithful  to  her  trust.  Here  is  a  task  that  ought  to 
enlist  the  sympathy  and  liberality  of  every  congre- 
gation and  every  believer  in  Christendom.  We  are 
doing  something  in  this  direction,  but  almost  nothing 
compared  with  our  numerical  and  tinancial  strength. 
What  was  true  in  the  apostolic  age  is  still  true.  "  The 
world  lies  in  the  wicked  one."  Darkness  covers  the 
lands,  and  gross  darkness  covers  the  peoples,  and  we 
are  at  ease  in  Zion.  A  thousand  millions  are  stum- 
bling on  the  dark  mountains  and  going  down  to  the 
l)it  with  none  to  deliver,  saying  as  they  pass  out 
into  the  night,  "No  man  cares  for  my  soul."  Their 
helplessness  and  hopelessness  ought  to  plead  in  their  be- 
half like  angels  trumpet-tongued.  To  the  church  of 
this  day,  as  to  the  church  of  a  former  day,  the  word  of 


MISSIONS  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH.  183 

the  Lord  comes,  "Arise,  shine;  for  thy  light  is  come, 
and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  has  risen  upon  thee."  Those 
who  have  the  truth  hold  it  in  trust  for  those  who 
have  it  not.  The  church  does  not  believe  this.  The 
bulk  of  all  moneys  raised  for  religious  purposes  is 
used  to  comfort  and  edify  those  who  are  already  in 
the  fold.  The  needs  of  the  countless  multitudes  who 
are  living  and  dying  without  the  gospel  are  lightly 
regarded.  The  church  has  not  been  made  to  under- 
stand her  duty.  She  has  been  making  a  pastime  of 
that  which  should  be  the  object  of  her  steadfast  pur- 
suit. Christian  men  do  not  engage  in  this  work  as 
politicians  engage  in  a  presidential  campaign,  or  as 
men  seek  for  the  prizes  and  pleasures  of  this  life. 
They  do  not  manifest  the  zeal  and  the  whole-hearted- 
ness  in  extending  the  kingdom  that  myriads  do  in 
seeking  to  gratify  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  the  lust  of  the 
eye  and  the  pride  of  life.  The  heathen  nations  do  not 
feel  that  the  church  has  entered  upon  this  evangel- 
istic crusade  in  earnest,  and  that  all  her  energies  are 
devoted  to  its  triumph.  They  do  not  witness  the 
divine  enthusiasm  and  the  impetuous  onrush  of  the 
first  century,  when  heathen  priests  and  artisans  felt 
that  their  craft  was  in  danger,  and  that  their  temples 
and  altars  were  about  to  be  deserted  and  set  at  naught, 
because  of  the  teaching  of  these  men  who  had  turned 
the  world  upside  down.  The  irreligious  at  home  are 
not  convinced  that  the  church  really  desires  to  con- 
vert the  world.  They  do  not  see  the  supreme  conse- 
cration that  was  seen  in  our  Lord  and  his  Apostles, 
who  made  this  their  sole  concern.  They  do  not  see 
people  offering  themselves  willingly  in  this  the  day  of 
his  power.  It  goes  with  the  saying  that  this  work 
should  have  a  permanent  place  in  our  thoughts  and 
prayers;  it  should  have  a  fixed  share  in  the  assign- 
ment of  our  incomes;  it  should  become  the  great  end 


184  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

and  aim  of  life.  We  ought  to  do  far  more  than  we 
have  ever  attempted  or  even  thought.  We  must  give 
our  souls  no  rest  till  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  covers  the  earth,  even  as  the  waters  cover 
the  sea.  We  must  not  be  content  till  all  created  in- 
telligences in  heaven,  and  on  the  earth,  and  under 
the  earth,  and  in  the  sea,  are  heard  sajing,  "  Blessing, 
and  honor,  and  glory,  and  power,  be  unto  him  that 
sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb  for  ever 
and  ever." 


i,  'i  ->^*<r'-»;".5?\j»5'5;a03if»*?;jf  vv>,'''=?-?.\'-<?r- 


"r"^' 


Oti/'ir^ifiJV.  f.Nt  CC 


WORKERS   IN   INDIA. 

1     Mrs  G.  L.  Wharton  and  Child,  Hurda.  2.    Miss  Josepha  Franki-in,  Bilaspur. 

3.    Mrs.  M.  D.  Adams,  Bilaspur. 
5.    MissHattieL.  JuDSON,  Hurda.  4.    Mk.s.  H.  L.  Jackson,  Hurda. 


X. 

MISSIONS   IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES. 

Making  it  my  aim  so  to  preach  tlie  gospel,  not  where  Christ  was  already 
named,  that  I  might  not  build  upon  another  man's  foundation.— iZoni.  xv.  20. 

GiBBox  says  that  there  is  the  strongest  reason  to 
believe  that  before  the  reign  of  Diocletian  and  Con- 
stantine  the  gospel  was  preached  in  all  the  great 
cities  of  the  Empire,  The  truth  was  carried  not  only 
by  missionaries,  but  also  by  merchants,  by  travelers, 
by  captives  taken  in  war,  by  soldiers  of  Rome,  by  bar- 
barians who  served  in  the  Legions,  by  women  who 
were  married  to  savage  chieftains.  Every  Christian 
was  a  missionary.  We  are  told  that  what  had  been 
the  consolation  of  the  slave  and  the  fugitive  in  the 
catacombs  had  become  the  creed  of  the  statesman 
and  the  magistrate,  and  the  Cross  was  blazoned  on  the 
banner  of  the  Empire.  When  Rome  fell  before  the 
Goths,  the  church  undertook  in  earnest  to  win  these 
savage  tribes  to  the  faith.  By  the  close  of  the  fifth 
century  the  Burgundians,  the  Suevi,  the  Vandals, 
and  the  Ostrogoths  embraced  Christianity.  An  early 
writer  says,  "So  the  Armenian  lays  down  his  quiver, 
the  Huns  are  learning  the  Psalter,  the  frosts  of  Scythia 
glow  with  the  warmth  of  faith,  the  ruddy  armies  of 
the  Goths  bear  about  with  them  the  tabernacle  of  the 
church."  Little  is  known  of  the  men  Avho  evangel- 
ized these  barbarians.     In   the  East  Ulfilas  was   the 

Apostle  of  the  Goths.     He  devoted   his  life   to  the 

( 185 ) 


186  MISSIONARY    ADDRESSES. 

conversion  of  his  own  people.  He  invented  an  alpha- 
bet and  translated  the  Bible  for  them.  Chrysostom 
founded  a  school  in  Constantinople  in  which  Gothic 
youths  were  trained  to  preach.  Speaking  of  the  Goths 
the  great  preacher  said,  "Thus  have  j'ou  witnessed 
to-day  the  most  savage  race  of  men  standing  together 
with  the  lambs  of  the  church — one  pasture,  one  fold 
for  all,  one  table  set  before  all."  Severinus  built  a 
cell  and  afterwards  a  monastery,  and  trained  a  few 
workers  for  Pannonia  and  Noricum.  He  endured 
hardships  of  every  kind.  He  went  barefoot  over 
frozen  rivers  to  collect  food  and  clothing  for  the 
needy  and  funds  to  ransom  those  who  had  been  sold 
into  slavery.  In  the  "West  the  Salian  Franks  accepted 
the  new  faith  because  Clovis  did.  In  the  battle  of 
Tolbiac,  the  king  was  hard  pressed  by  the  foe.  He 
called  upon  his  own  gods,  but  to  no  purpose.  When 
his  soldiers  were  on  the  point  of  being  routed  he  called 
on  the  God  of  his  wife,  and  vowed  that,  if  he  would 
give  him  the  victory,  he  would  renounce  paganism 
and  become  a  Christian.  He  gained  the  day  and  was 
baptized.  The  bishop  commanded  him  to  burn  what 
he  had  adored,  and  to  adore  what  he  had  burned. 
Five  thousand  were  baptized  the  same  da}'.  While 
we  know  almost  nothing  about  the  conversion  of  the 
Gothic  tribes  who  settled  in  the  Empire,  we  do  know 
a  good  deal  about  the  Missionary  Work  Done  in  the 
Middle  Ages.  This  is  the  topic  before  us.  Let  us 
look — 

/.  At  tlii'.  luork  done  in  the  British  Island.s.  The 
work  began  in  this  part  of  the  world  with  St.  Patrick, 
the  apostle  of  Ireland.  This  illustrious  man  was 
born  near  Dumbarton,  Scotland,  in  39.o.  While  yet  a 
lad  he  was  kidnaped  by  pirates  and  sold  as  a  slave  in 
Ireland.  He  ran  away  from  his  master,  escaped  to 
the  Continent,  and  becoming  a  Christian,  and  being 


MISSIONS  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES.  187 

-educated,  he  went  back  to  Ireland  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel. In  a  dream  he  heard  the  voice  of  the  Irish  peo- 
ple saying,  "  We  entreat  thee,  holy  .youth,  to  come 
and  walk  with  us."  He  met  the  king  and  his  Druids 
at  Tara,  and  made  so  favorable  an  impression  on  the 
royal  mind  that  he  was  allowed  to  continue  his  work. 
He  won  the  hearts  of  peasants  and  nobles;  he  in- 
structed whole  tribes  in  the  gospel.  He  invented  an 
alphabet,  established  seminaries  and  schools  for  both 
sexes.  He  covered  the  land  with  monasteries  in 
which  the  Scriptures  were  studied,  and  in  which 
ancient  books  Avere  read  and  copied,  and  workers 
trained  for  their  own  country  and  for  the  rest  of 
Europe.  Before  he  died  he  won  that  land  for  Christ. 
Ireland  was  known  for  centuries  as  the  Isle  of  the 
Saints,  as  the  University  of  the  West.  An  extract 
from  his  Breastplate  gives  us  an  idea  of  his  inner 
life: 

'  'Christ,  as  a  light, 
inumine  and  guide  me ! 

Christ  as  a  shield,  o'ershadow  and  cover  me ! 
Christ  be  under  me !  Christ  be  over  me ! 
Christ  be  beside  me, 
On  left  hand  and  right! 
Christ  be  before  me,  behind  me,  about  me! 
Christ  this  day  be  within  me  and  without  me ! ' ' 

The  work  began  in  Scotland  with  Columba.  This 
man  was  born  in  Donegal,  Ireland,  and  was  educated 
in  one  of  the  schools  of  St.  Patrick.  When  he  was 
forty-two  years  of  age  he  and  twelve  associates  started 
for  Scotland.  He  landed  at  lona  and  made  that  little 
island  a  Pharos  to  give  light  and  to  save  life.  He 
lived  in  the  simplest  style,  sleeping  on  the  bare  ground 
with  a  stone  for  a  pillow,  prostrating  himself  in  prayer 
for  the  people  whom  he  came  to  save.  Columba  could 
bale  or  guide  the  boat,  grind  the  corn,  give  medicine, 
and  oversee  the  farm.  He  preached  the  gospel  wher- 
ever he  could  find  an  ear  to  listen,  erected  a  church, 


188  MISSIONARY   ADDRESSES. 

and  leaving  some  one  to  care  for  the  flock,  he  passed 
on  sowing  the  seed.  Not  content  with  evangelizing 
Scotland,  he  carried  the  gospel  to  the  Orkneys  and 
Hebrides.  His  pupils  spread  forth  far  and  wide, 
opening  up  everywhere  fresh  centers  of  missionary 
enterprise  amid  the  dense  darkness.  Columba 
founded  schools  as  far  south  as  the  Humber.  The 
men  trained  in  these  schools  were  known  as  the  Scots- 
men of  the  next  four  hundred  years  all  over  Europe. 
In  one  of  the  schools  founded  by  his  pupils,  Martin 
Luther  was  trained  for  his  mighty  work.  The  evening 
he  died  he  was  transcribing  the  thirty-fourth  Psalm. 
He  wrote  the  words,  "They  who  seek  the  Lord  shall 
want  no  good  thing,"  and  stopped.  He  said,  "The 
next  words,  '  Come  ye  children,  hearken  unto  me,'  be- 
long to  my  successor."  We  are  told  that  the  schools 
founded  by  St.  Patrick  and  Columba  attracted  stu- 
dents from  every  part  of  Europe,  and  furnished  hosts 
of  dauntless  missionaries  ready  to  go  at  a  moment's 
warning  wherever  there  was  an  open  door.  They 
went  to  England,  Germany,  France  and  Iceland. 

Augustine  was  the  apostle  of  England.  Christianity 
entered  Britain  with  the  Romans,  but  its  success  was 
limited.  When  tlie  Romans  withdrew  the  Saxons 
came,  and  Christianity  perished  before  them.  For  a 
century  and  a  half  Britain  was  pagan  territory. 
Gregory  the  Great  wanted  to  go  to  England  as  a 
missionarv,  and  started,  but  was  recalled.  When  he 
became  Pope  he  sent  Augustine  with  forty  compan- 
ions to  win  England.  On, the  way  they  heard  that  the 
Saxons  were  a  people  of  fierce  countenance,  whose 
language  they  could  not  understand,  and  turned  back. 
Gregory  would  not  listen  to  their  timid  excuses. 
Ethelbert,  King  of  Kent,  had  married  a  Christian 
princess.  He  received  them  kindly  and  gave  them 
j)ermission   to  preach.      After  a  time   the  king  was. 


MISSIONS  IN"  THE  MIDDLE  AGES.  189 

baptized.  On  Christmas  day  upwards  of  10,000  were 
baptized  in  the  Swale.  Edwin,  King  of  Northumbria, 
married  a  daughter  of  Ethelbert.  Before  a  battle 
with  the  King  of  Wessex  he  said  to  the  bishop,  "If 
your  God  will  give  me  the  victory  over  the  King  of 
Wessex,  1  will  renounce  my  idols  and  worship  him." 
He  was  victor  in  the  battle.  He  consulted  the  Witan 
and  they  decided  in  favor  of  Christianity.  The  king 
and  the  bishop  and  others  traveled  through  the  king- 
dom and  preached  to  the  people.  Great  numbers 
were  baptized  in  the  Glen  and  in  the  Trent.  Redwald, 
King  of  East  Anglia,  was  baptized  while  on  a  visit  to 
Ethelbert.  On  his  return  home,  to  please  both  par- 
ties, he  set  up  an  altar  to  Christ  and  to  heathen  gods 
in  the  same  temj)le.  Edwin  was  the  agent  of  his  thor- 
ough conversion.  Within  less  than  a  century  after 
the  arrival  of  Augustine,  all  England  was  evangelized. 
Laws  regulated  the  treatment  of  slaves,  forbade  sor- 
cery, necromancy  and  divining.  England  had  become 
a  center  of  gospel  light.  In  bringing  about  this 
change  Aidan,  the  apostle  of  Northumbria,  played  a 
noble  part.  He  neither  sought  the  good  things  of  this 
life  nor  cared  for  them.  Whatever  presents  he  re- 
ceived he  gave  to  the  poor.  He  traveled  on  foot, 
exhorting  all  to  become  Christians,  and  if  Christ's,  to 
show  their  faith  by  almsgiving  and  good  works.  In 
Sussex  Wilfrid  taught  the  people  to  catch  fish.  He 
saved  them  from  famine  and  preached  the  gospel  to 
them.  Stanley  describes  how  under  the  labors  of 
Augustine  and  his  associates  tlie  first  English  city  of 
Canterbury  sprang  up.  The  kingdom  of  Kent  ex- 
panded into  the  Christian  Empire  of  Great  Britain. 
This  in  turn  led  to  the  conversion  of  Germany,  and  of 
North  America,  of  Australasia,  and  of  the  Islands  of 
the  Pacific.  "And  who  can  tell  what  future  empires 
and  kingdoms,  in  circle  after  circle  of  ever-broaden- 


190  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

ing  light,  shall  be  the  result,  till  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
shall  cover  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea. ' ' 

11.  Let  us  look  at  the  loorh  among  the  Teutonic 
peoples.  British  Christianity  did  not  fail  to  possess 
the  evangelistic  spirit.  The  disciples  of  Columba 
went  everywhere,  planting  wherever  they  went  the 
banner  of  the  Cross.  It  is  said  that  the}'  swarmed  like 
bees  into  the  dark  places  of  heathen  Europe,  carrying 
with  them  the  light  of  the  gospel  of  the  glory  of 
Christ.  Thus  Columbanus,  who  was  born  in  Lein- 
ster  and  educated  in  Banchor,  selected  twelve  associ- 
ates for  work  on  the  Continent.  The  king  of  Bur- 
gundy wanted  them  to  settle  near  him.  But  they  did 
not  want  to  build  on  other  men's  foundations.  They 
did  not  wish  to  be  clothed  in  soft  raiment  and  live  in 
kings'  houses.  They  wanted  to  live  among  the  igno- 
rant, the  barbarous,  the  heathen.  They  settled  in  a 
forest  where  they  were  in  perils  of  robbers,  of  wild 
beasts,  and  of  malaria.  They  lived  on  the  bark  of 
trees,  and  such  roots  and  herbs  and  berries  as  they 
could  find.  They  suffered  incredil)le  hardships.  Giv- 
ing offense  to  the  King  and  Queen-mother,  he  was 
seized  and  ]3ut  on  board  of  a  ship  sailing  to  Ireland. 
Returning,  he  continued  his  work.  The  land  was 
cleared,  seed  was  sown,  and  manuscripts  copied.  His 
monastery  was  a  source  of  light  to  all  the  heathen 
around  it.  He  evangelized  Lombardy,  and  erected 
the  standard  of  the  cross  at  Pavia,  Tarentum,  and 
Bobbio  among  the  Apennines.  St.  Gall,  one  of  his 
associates,  carried  the  gospel  into  Switzerland.  He 
reclaimed  a  part  of  that  land  from  l)arbarism,  taught 
the  people  something  about  agriculture,  as  well  as  the 
duties  of  religion.  His  life  was  renowned  for  self- 
denial  and  usefulness.  Amandus,  St.  Eligius,  and 
Wilfrid  evangelized  parts  of  Friesland.  The  people 
offered    human   sacrifices.     Some   were    hung,    some 


MISSIONS  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES.  191 

were  drowned,  and  others  were  strangled.  Their 
labors  were  rewarded  with  the  conversion  of  the  king, 
several  chiefs,  and  thousands  of  the  people.  Kilian 
is  known  as  the  apostle  of  Franconia,  Fridolin  won 
the  Alemanni  to  Christ,  Willibroard  carried  the  truth 
into  Batavia,  Friesland,  and  Westphalia. 

Boniface,  the  apostle  of  Germany,  and  the  father 
of  German  civilization,  was  born  in  England  in  ()80. 
He  labored  in  Thuringia,  Hesse,  and  Frisia.  He  bap- 
tized 100,000  in  twenty  years.  Near  Geismar,  in 
Upper  Hesse,  there  stood  an  oak  tree  that  had  been 
sacred  to  Thor  for  ages.  This  tree  was  a  great  obsta- 
cle to  his  success.  Failing  to  win  the  people  from 
their  adoration  of  it,  he  seized  an  ax  and  began  to  cut 
it  down.  The  priests  and  people  expected  him  to  be 
struck  dead.  At  last  the  tree  fell.  The  people  felt 
that  a  god  who  could  not  protect  himself  was  un- 
worthy of  worship.  Out  of  the  timber  Boniface  built 
a  chapel  in  honor  of  St.  Peter.  Wherever  he  labored 
heathen  temples  disappeared,  churches  and  schools 
were  built,  the  land  was  plowed  and  sowed,  the  sound 
of  prayer  and  praise  awoke  unwonted  echoes  in  the 
forests.  When  he  was  an  old  man  and  an  archbishop, 
he  heard  of  a  tribe  of  Frisians  that  were  still  hea- 
thens. The  old  missionary  zeal  was  unquenched.  He 
wanted  to  atone  for  the  cowardice  and  unbelief  which 
led  him  to  abandon  Thuringia  in  his  youth.  Resign- 
ing his  great  office,  he  started  to  preach  to  that  tribe. 
As  he  expected  never  to  return,  he  put  a  shroud 
among  his  books.  After  doing  some  work,  he  and  his 
helpers  were  put  to  death.  "The  roll  of  missionary 
heroes  since  the  days  of  tlie  apostles  can  point  to  few 
names  more  glorious,  to  none,  perhaps,  that  has 
added  to  the  dominion  of  the  gospel  regions  of 
greater  extent  or  value,  or  that  has  exerted  a  greater 
influence  upon  the  history  of  the  race." 


193  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

Among  his  disciples  was  Gregory,  of  Utrecht.  He 
was  instant  in  season  and  out  of  season.  He  grudged 
no  toil  and  spared  no  pains.  The  monastery  at 
Utrecht  became  a  missionary  college.  In  it  young 
men  from  England,  France,  Friesland,  Saxony,  Suabia, 
and  Bavaria  were  trained  for  their  work.  Sturmi,  of 
Fulda,  was  another.  He  longed  for  some  lonely 
retreat.  He  went  out  into  the  forest  seeking  a  suit- 
able place.  At  night  he  protected  himself  by  chant- 
ing h3'mns  and  prayers.  He  caused  the  forest  to 
blossom  like  Eden  and  like  the  garden  of  the  Lord. 
He  directed  the  labor  of  four  thousand  monks.  In 
the  schools  formed  by  these  men  there  were  those,  as 
has  been  said,  who  kept  alive  the  torch  of  learning 
and  handed  it  on  to  others. 

Anskar  has  been  called  the  apostle  of  the  North. 
The  Vikings  had  become  the  terror  and  scourge  of 
every  land  and  every  sea.  They  prowled  along  the 
shores  of  Germany,  France,  and  England.  It  is  said 
that  when  Charlemagne  saw  them,  he  wept.  Their 
presence  boded  evil  to  the  lands  they  visited.  Anskar 
was  to  go  to  the  homes  of  these  men  and  preach 
Christ  to  them  in  their  strongholds.  He  was  educated 
in  Corbie.  When  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age  the 
great  king  died.  The  king  was  buried  with  *'the 
imperial  diadem  on  his  head,  his  eyes  closed,  girt  with 
his  baldric,  the  ivory  horn  slung  in  his  scarf,  his  good 
sword  Joyeuse  by  his  side,  the  Gospel  Book  on  his 
lap,  musk  and  amber  and  sweet  spices  poured 
around."  It  was  a  scene  to  touch  the  imagination 
and  the  heart  of  the  young  monk.  His  friends  urged 
him  not  to  go,  but  he  would  not  listen  to  their  en- 
treaties. Harold  Klack,  king  of  Jutland,  visited  King 
Louis  seeking  aid.  The  aid  was  granted  on  condition 
that  he  embrace  Christianity.  Anskar  accompanied 
him    home.     He    opened   a   school    and    bought    or 


MISSIONS  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES.  193 

received  boys  to  train  for  a  native  ministry.  The 
people  resented  the  baptism  of  the  king  and  rebelled. 
The  king  fled,  and  Anskar  felt  that  it  was  useless  for 
him  to  remain.  He  was  invited  to  Sweden.  On  the 
way  thither  he  and  his  company  were  attacked  by 
pirates.  They  lost  everything.  His  associates  urged 
him  to  return.  He  said:  "  What  may  happen  to  me 
is  in  the  hands  of  God ;  but  I  have  made  up  my  mind 
not  to  return  until  I  discover  whether  it  is  God's  will 
that  the  gospel  shall  be  published  in  this  land." 
Pressing  on,  he  reached  Sweden  and  began  work. 
Afterwards  he  went  to  Hamburg  and  built  a  school. 
The  Norsemen  came  and  sacked  and  burned  the/city 
and  the  school.  Being  driven  out,  he  visited  Sweden 
again.  War  was  waged  against  his  teaching,  but  he 
would  not  leave.  Anskar  was  robed  in  a  shirt  of 
haircloth  day  and  night.  He  measured  his  food  and 
drink.  His  charity  was  boundless.  Ha  would  not  sit 
down  to  dine  without  first  calling  in  some  of  the  poor 
to  share  the  meal  with  him. 

Olaf,  king  of  Norway,  accepted  the  truth  himself. 
Then  he  determined  to  uproot  heathenism  from  the 
kingdom.  He  told  the  people  that  they  must  either 
fight  or  embrace  Christianity.  The  record  states  that 
they  were  all  baptized.  Not  content  wnth  his  work  at 
home,  he  sent  the  gospel  to  Greenland,  the  Orkneys, 
and  to  Iceland.  Heathenism  still  continued  in  parts 
of  the  country.  Under  one  of  his  successors  some 
one  smote  an  idol  with  his  battle-axe.  The  blow  shat- 
tered the  idol,  disclosing  a  number  of  mice  and  other 
vermin  which  had  fattened  on  the  sacrifices.  This 
made  the  idol  ridiculous.  The  people  were  told  to 
take  the  gold  and  ornaments  and  give  them  to  their 
wives  and  daughters,  and  not  to  hang  them  on  a 
stock  or  stone.  Gradually  heathenism  disappeared. 
13 


194  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

Schools  were  built.  Corn  was  planted.  Mills  were 
erected  and  mines  were  opened.  The  struggle  be- 
tween Odin  and  Thor  and  the  Crucified  was  a  long 
one,  but  the  event  was  that  all  the  gods  of  Valhalla 
surrendered.     "The  Galilean  conquered." 

III.  Let  us  look  at  the  work  done  among  the  Slavic 
peoples.  Bogoris,  king  of  Bulgaria,  was  baptized  by 
Photius.  The  people  rebelled  against  him  in  conse- 
quence. They  were  strongly  attached  to  the  national 
gods.  The  national  standard  was  a  horsetail.  This 
emblem  was  exchanged  for  the  Cross.  Eotislav,  the 
ruler  of  Moravia,  requested  the  Greek  emperor  to 
send  him  some  men  to  translate  the  Scriptures. 
Methodius  and  Constantine  were  sent.  They  invented 
an  alphabet  and  translated  the  Gospels,  the  Acts,  and 
the  other  books.  Much  good  was  done.  The  western 
ecclesiastics  regarded  a  Slavonic  alphabet  as  little 
short  of  heresy,  and  these  men  were  summoned  to 
Rome.  The  Pope  favored  the  missionaries.  The 
Duke  of  Bohemia  was  on  a  visit  to  the  King  of 
Moravia.  At  dinner  he  was  seated  on  the  floor. 
He  asked  what  he  should  receive  if  he  became  a 
Christian.  He  was  told  that  he  should  receive  a 
seat  higher  than  all  kings  and  princes.  He  and  thirty 
attendants  were  baptized  forthwith. 

Vladimir,  king  of  Russia,  was  persuaded  to  be  bap- 
tized. Many  of  the  people  followed  his  example. 
The  huge  idol  Peroun  was  tied  to  the  tail  of  a  horse, 
scourged  by  twelve  horsemen,  and  thrown  into  the 
Dnieper.  When  the  people  saw  that  he  could  not 
help  himself  they  were  content.  The  bishops  went 
from  place  to  place,  teaching  and  baptizing  the  peo- 
ple, and  building  schools  and  churches.  The  gospel 
reached  Poland  from  Moravia.  After  a  time  the 
heathen  party  arose,  hunted  and  killed  bishops  and 
clergy,  and  burned  churches  and  monasteries.      Ber- 


MISSIONS  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES.  195 

nard  went  to  Pomerania,  but  the  people  would  not 
hear  him.  They  hurried  hini  on  board  ship  and  told 
him  to  preach  to  the  fish  and  the  birds.  The  Polish 
Duke  Boleslav  determined  to  make  the  Pomeranians 
adopt  the  Christian  religion  at  the  point  of  the  sword. 
He  attacked  and  captured  their  capital  in  midwinter, 
and  ravaged  the  whole  district.  The  people  were 
forced  to  give  up  their  idols  and  receive  baptism. 
Bishop  Otho  was  urged  to  carry  on  the  work.  In  all 
his  labors  he  was  supported  by  the  Duke.  At  one 
place  he  baptized  7,000,  at  another  so  many  that  he 
had  scarcely  strength  to  administer  the  ordinance. 
At  another  place  the  people  said,  "What  have  we  to 
do  with  you?  We  will  not  put  away  our  national  cus- 
toms, and  we  are  well  content  with  our  national  re- 
ligion. Keep  your  faith  to  yourselves,  and  intermed- 
dle not  with  us."  These  people  were  persuaded  and 
were  baptized.  Their  temples  and  idols  were  demol- 
ished. Only  one  man  refused  to  abandon  the  old 
faith.  He  was  the  high-priest  whose  duty  it  was  to 
wait  on  the  sacred  horse. 

John,  bishop  of  Mecklenburg,  fell  a  martyr  among 
the  Wends.  After  being  beaten  with  clubs,  he  was 
carried  about  as  a  show  through  the  chief  Slavonic 
towns.  At  one  point  because  he  would  not  deny  his 
faith,  his  feet  and  hands  were  cut  off;  afterwards 
he  was  beheaded.  The  body  was  flung  into  the  street, 
and  the  head,  fixed  on  a  pole,  was  carried  in  triumph 
to  the  temple  of  Radegast,  and  offered  to  the  deity. 
Vicelin  settled  among  them  and  won  many.  There 
were  reactions,  but  the  work  went  on.  The  Lith- 
uanians worshiped  the  heavenly  bodies,  the  god  of 
thunder,  and  serpents  and  lizards,  with  human  sacri- 
fices. A  chief  married  a  Polish  princess  and  thereby 
united  the  two  countries.  Then  the  idols  were  de- 
stroyed, the  groves  were  cut  down,  the  sacred  fires 


196  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

were  extinguished,  and  the  holy  serpents  and  lizards 
killed.  The  people  were  conducted  in  troops  to  the 
banks  of  the  rivers  and  were  baptized. 

The  Prussians  had  three  principal  gods.  These 
were  Percunos,  the  god  of  thunder,  Potrimpos,  the 
god  of  corn  and  fruits,  and  Picullos,  the  god  of  the 
infernal  regions.  Children  that  were  deformed,  aged 
prisoners,  and  all  whose  recovery  was  doubtful,  were 
put  out  of  the  way.  Male  and  female  slaves  were 
burned  with  the  corpse  of  their  masters.  At  the 
opening  of  the  thirteenth  century  they  were  fanatical- 
ly addicted  to  paganism.  Missionaries  hazarded  their 
lives  in  going  to  them.  When  Adelbert,  bishop  of 
Prague,  began  to  explain  to  them  who  he  was  and 
why  he  had  come  to  them,  they  said,  "Away  with  such 
fellows  from  our  land.  These  are  they  who  cause  our 
crops  to  fail,  our  trees  to  decay,  our  herds  to  sicken. 
Depart  from  us  or  expect  instant  death!"  He  and 
his  associates  were  killed.  When  dying  the  good 
bishop  said,  ''We  know  that  we  suffer  for  the  name 
of  our  dear  Lord,  whose  might  is  above  all  might, 
whose  beauty  is  above  all  beauty,  and  whose  grace  is 
inexpressible.  What  can  be  more  blessed  than  to  lay 
down  life  for  God?"  Bruno  went  with  eighteen  com- 
panions to  take  up  the  work.  He  and  all  with  him 
shared  the  fate  of  their  predecessors.  Gottfried  won 
some  success,  but  had  to  give  up  in  despair.  Bishop 
Christian  accomplished  something.  The  Prussians 
rose  in  fury  and  destroyed  nearly  three  hundred 
churches  and  chapels,  and  put  many  Christians  to  the 
sword.  The  Teutonic  knights  took  part  in  the  cru- 
sade against  heathenism.  They  erected  castles  and 
introduced  German  colonists.  In  course  of  time 
sacrifices  to  idols,  infanticide,  polygamy  and  the  burn- 
ing of  the  dead  were  discontinued. 

At  the  close  of  the  fourteenth  century,  Europe  was 


MISSIONS  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES.  197 

nominally  Christian.  Some  efforts  were  put  forth  to 
win  the  Jews  and  Moslems  to  the  faith.  Raimund 
Lull,  the  greatest  man  of  his  age,  gave  his  life  to  the 
conversion  of  the  Moslems.  He  was  driven  out  by 
men  who  could  not  answer  his  arguments.  He  was 
threatened  with  death  if  he  returned.  He  did  return 
and  was  stoned.  After  this  a  man  here  and  there 
went  out  and  did  something,  but  the  missionary  work 
of  the  Middle  Ages  was  done. 

IV.  Let  us  note  some  features  of  the  work  in  this 
period.  1.  When  a  king  was  baptized  it  was  a  com- 
mon thing  for  the  whole  people  to  follow  his  exam- 
ple. This  was  the  case  when  Clovis  and  Ethelbert 
were  baptized.  So  wh'en  St.  Patrick  preached  ia 
Connaught,  the  princes  submitted,  and  their  example 
was  followed  by  several  thousands  of  their  subjects. 
In  Russia  all  the  people  flocked  to  the  Dnieper  and 
there  some  stood  in  the  water  up  to  their  necks,  and 
others  up  to  their  breasts,  while  the  priests  read  the 
prayers  from  the  shore,  naming  at  once  whole  com- 
panies by  the  same  name.  The  theory  of  the  time 
was  that  the  religion  of  the  king  should  be  the  relig- 
ion of  his  people.  So  if  a  king  returned  to  heathen- 
ism, or  if  his  successor  was  a  heathen,  the  people 
Avere  expected  and  required  to  renounce  Christianity. 
It  was  for  this  reason  that  the  missionaries  addressed 
themselves  first  to  the  king.  As  the  people  were  not 
free  in  the  matter  of  religion,  they  were  not  addressed 
until  after  the  baptism  of  the  king,  or  until  his  good 
will  had  been  secured. 

2.  The  converts  had  crude  conceptions  of  the 
nature  and  requirements  of  the  gospel.  It  was  a  sav- 
age age,  and  the  vices  of  savagery  were  not  all  aban- 
doned at  once.  Years  after  his  baptism  Clovis  heard 
a  sermon  on  the  rejection  of  Christ  by  the  Jews. 
Said  he,  "  Had  I  been  there  with  my  brave  Franks, 


198  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

they  had  not  dared  to  treat  him  so."  Though  he  did 
much  for  the  church,  it  is  said  that  his  bhickest  deeds 
were  done  after  his  baptism.  His  religion  did  not 
stand  in  the  wa}'  of  his  passions.  The  same  was  true 
of  Charlemagne.  He  was  a  defender  of  the  faith, 
but  his  life  was  far  from  exemplary.  Of  the  thous- 
ands who  were  baptized  to  gratify  their  king,  there 
were  few  who  had  a  clear  and  accurate  conception  of 
the  nature  of  the  Christian  religion. 

3.  In  some  instances  kings  compelled  their  sub- 
jects to  embrace  Christianity.  Charlemagne  kept  up 
a  war  with  heathenism  for  thirty  years.  The  Saxons 
were  compelled  to  3'ield  their  old  faith  and  their  old 
practices.  He  sought  to  consolidate  his  Empire  by 
founding  schools  and  churches  and  by  endowing  bish- 
oprics. In  Norway  Olaf  told  the  people  that  they 
must  submit  to  his  proposal  to  accept  the  new  faith 
or  expect  his  displeasure  and  punishment,  and  all  the 
ill  it  was  in  his  power  to  inflict.  The}'  had  their 
choice,  "Either  accept  Christianity  or  fight."  As 
they  were  not  able  to  cope  with  the  forces  of  the 
king  they  were  baptized.  The  Pomeranians  were 
forced  into  the  church.  A  bishop,  apologizing  for 
the  means  resorted  to,  said  that  for  a  people  requiring 
to  be  tended  like  cattle,  and  beaten  like  stubborn 
asses,  such  means  were  more  adapted  than  the  gentler 
measures  which  the  spirit  of  Christianity  would  have 
dictated.  Sometimes  the  people  rebelled  and  drove 
out  or  killed  the  king.  It  is  proper  to  say  that  the 
ablest  missionaries  did  not  seek  to  propagate  the  gos- 
pel with  fire  and  sword.  They  preached  the  truth  and 
illustrated  it  in  their  own  lives.  The  weapons  of 
their  warfare  were  not  carnal,  but  spiritual,  and  mighty 
through  God  to  the  pulling  down  of  strongholds. 

4.  The  temples  and  idols  were  profaned  or  de- 
stroyed.   In  Northumbria  the  high-priest  flung  a  jave- 


MISSIONS  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES.  199 

lin  at  the  temple,  and  then  bade  his  assistants  destroy 
the  heathen  structure,  and  burn  it  with  all  its  sacred 
precincts.  He  polluted  the  altars  which  he  had  dedi- 
cated, and  on  which  he  had  offered  sacrifices.  Olaf 
smote  the  image  of  Thor  with  his  battle-axe  so  that  it 
rolled  at  his  feet.  In  Pomerania  the  clergy  armed 
themselves  with  clubs  and  axes  and  began  to  demolish 
the  temples.  The  people  expected  to  see  the  gods 
avenge  themselves.  When  they  failed  to  do  so  the 
people  cried  out,  "What  power  can  these  gods  have 
who  do  not  defend  their  own  abodes?  If  they  can 
not  defend  themselves,  how  can  they  defend  or  ad- 
vantage us?"  In  a  little  while  the  largest  temples 
were  razed  to  the  ground,  and  the  material  convei'ted 
into  firewood.  The  triple-headed  Triglav  was  sent  to 
Rome  as  a  memorial  of  the  victory  over  Slavonic 
idolatry.  Rugen  for  many  years  had  been  a  strong- 
hold of  heathenism.  In  one  of  the  temples  was  the 
gigantic  image  of  Sviantovit  This  image  was  cut 
down,  hewn  to  pieces,  and  given  to  the  soldiers  to 
cook  their  food.  In  another  temple  there  was  an  idol 
Tvith  seven  heads,  another  with  five,  and  another  still 
with  four.  These  and  the  temples  were  demolished. 
These  temples  and  idols  were  constantly  reminding 
the  people  of  the  old  faith,  and  tempting  them  to  re- 
turn to  what  they  had  renounced.  It  was  necessary 
that  they  should  be  destroyed.  When  the  people  saw 
that  the  gods  did  not  protect  their  own  interests  they 
lost  faith  in  them.  On  the  sites  of  the  temples  rose 
churches  in  which  the  gospel  was  preached. 

5.  Many  of  the  missionaries  were  men  of  noble 
birth  and  high  rank.  St.  Patrick  selected  from  the 
higher  classes  those  whose  piety  and  intelligence 
fitted  them  for  the  work  of  the  ministry.  Columba, 
the  apostle  of  Scotland,  was  of  a  princely  family. 
Columbanus,   who   did    so    much   in  Burgundy   and 


300  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

Northern  Italy,  was  born  of  noble  parents,  Adelbert, 
who  selected  the  north  of  Holland  as  the  scene  of  his 
toils,  was  a  prince  of  the  royal  race  of  Northuinbria. 
Boniface  belonged  to  an  old  and  noble  family.  We 
see  men  resigning  high  and  useful  positions  to  take 
part  in  missionary  work.  Others  retained  their 
honors  that  they  might  be  more  effective.  Bishops 
and  archbishops  became  missionaries  to  the  most 
savage  tribes.  They  did  not  want  to  build  on  another 
man's  foundation.  Their  desire  was  to  preach  Christ 
where  he  had  not  been  named.  The  farther  they 
could  get  away  from  civilization  the  better  they  were 
pleased.  They  did  not  count  their  own  lives  of  any 
account,  as  dear  unto  themselves,  so  that  they  might 
acconii^lish  their  course,  and  the  ministry  which  they 
had  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  testify  the  gospel 
of  the  grace  of  God.  They  were  willing  to  die  for  the 
faith;  many  of  them  did  die.  So  far  from  regretting 
their  course,  they  rejoiced  that  they  were  counted 
worthy  to  suffer  for  the  Name. 

They  faced  the  tyrant's  brandished  steel, 

The  lion's  gory  mane  ; 
They  bowed  their  necks  the  death  to  feel ; 

Who  follows  in  their  train? 
They  climbed  the  steep  ascent  to  heaven 

'Mid  peril,  toil,  and  pain  ; 
O  God,  to  us  may  grace  be  given 

To  follow  in  their  train ! 

We  owe  it  to  these  men,  under  God,  that  Chris- 
tianity did  not  perish  from  the  earth.  When  Moham- 
medanism had  conquered  Palestine,  Syria,  Egypt, 
North  Africa,  Spain,  from  these  northern  peoples 
came  Charles  Martel,  who  broke  the  power  of  Islam 
on  the  field  of  Tours,  and  saved  Europe.  And  when 
the  same  power  had  taken  Constantinople,  from  these 
same  people  came  John  Sobieski,  who  smote  the  fol- 
lowers of  the  Prophet  of  Arabia,  under  the  walls  of 


MISSIONS  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES.  201 

Vienna,  and  saved  Europe  a  second  time.  Had  the 
church  failed  to  do  her  duty  in  the  Middle  Ages, 
Christendom  would  have  been  I'lotted  from  the  map 
of  the  world,  and  the  call  of  the  muezzin  would  have 
been  heard  in  Rome,  in  Berlin,  in  Paris,  in  London, 
and  St.  Petersburg.  From  these  northern  races  came 
the  men  and  women  who  in  our  day  have  undertaken 
the  enormous  task  of  undermining  paganism  and 
reclaiming  the  world  to  God.  While  we  cannot 
approve  all  the  methods  which  they  employed  in  that 
savage  age,  or  all  that  they  did,  we  can  be  grateful 
that  there  were  men  who  hazarded  and  often  forfeited 
their  lives  in  winning  our  ancestors  to  the  truth  as  it 
is  in  Jesus.  We  shall  best  manifest  our  gratitude  by 
bearing  the  gospel  to  those  who  have  never  heard  the 
joyful  sound. 


XI. 
MODERN  MISSIONS. 

And  I  saw  another  angel  flying  in  mid  heaven,  having  an  eternal  gospel  to 
proclaim  unto  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth,  and  unto  every  nation  and  tribe 
and  tongue  and  people. — Rev.  xiv.  6. 

In  his  History  of  the  Nineteenth  Centuiy,  McKen- 
zie  says  that  in  the  foremost  rank  of  powers  des- 
tined to  change  the  face  of  the  world  stand  Christian 
missions.  These,  he  says,  may  ahiiost  be  regarded  as 
the  product  of  the  present  century,  and  the  imposing 
magnitude  which  they  have  gained  is  altogether  re- 
cent. This  statement  needs  to  be  qualified.  In  the 
eighteenth  century  missionary  societies  were  organ- 
ized, and  men  went  out  into  different  parts  of  the  world 
to  preach  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ.  Dr. 
Smith  explains  why  it  was  that  these  missions  did  not 
impress  the  thought  of  the  church  or  of  the  world. 
They  were  small  in  themselves ;  they  were  conducted 
generally  by  uneducated  men;  and  they  were  directed 
to  races  and  tribes  too  obscure,  savage  or  transient  to 
influence  the  great  centers  and  citadels  of  heathen- 
dom, the  great  non-Christian  and  anti-Christian  sys- 
tems and  civilizations.  Carey's  voice  rang  out  like  a 
fire-bell  at  midnight  and  awoke  the  church  from  the 
slumber  of  ages.  Since  then  this  work  has  not  been 
done  in  a  corner.  It  has  been  carried  on  in  the  sight 
of  the  wdiole  world,  and  on  a  much  larger  scale  than 
before.    The  citadels  have  been  attacked  with  weapons 

of  precision  and  weight.     The  church  recognizes  the 

(202) 


MODERN  MISSIONS.  203 

claims  of  this  cause  as  she  had  not  for  many  centuries. 
This  is  what  is  meant  when  it  is  said  that  the  present 
era  began  with  Carey.  In  speaking  on  Modern  Mis- 
sions, let  me  call  attention — 

/.  To  lohat  loas  done  prior  to  tJie  x>resent  missionary 
era.  John  Eliot  was  educated  in  Cambridge,  came  to 
America  and  settled  in  Roxbury,  near  Boston.  He 
spent  fifty-eight  years  evangelizing  the  Indians.  He 
translated  the  Bible  into  their  language.  Tiiis  was 
the  first  book  printed  in  America.  He  established  an 
Indian  college  near  Harvard  to  train  native  pastors 
and  teachers.  He  lived  to  see  several  thousand  praj'- 
ing  Indians.  His  converts  built  their  own  houses, 
and  were  as  well  behaved  and  as  well  clothed  as  the 
other  settlers.  There  was  little  romance  in  the  v;ork. 
He  said,  "I  have  not  been  dry,day  nor  night,  although 
I  pull  off  my  boots,  wring  my  stockings,  on  with  them 
again,  and  so  continue."  When  he  grew  old  he  said, 
"My  understanding  leaves  me,  my  memory  fails  me, 
but  I  thank  God  my  charity  holds  out.  I  find  that 
rather  grows  than  fails."  His  motto  was,  "Prayer 
and  pains,  with  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  will 
accomplish  anything." 

David  Brainerd's  brief  and  ])right  career  was  spent 
among  the  Indians  of  New  York,  New  Jersey  and 
Pennsylvania.  Rich  and  prosperous  churches  sought 
his  services,  but  he  declined  their  tempting  offers. 
He  said,  "  Here  am  I,  Lord,  send  mo!  Send  me  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth;  send  me  to  the  rough,  the  sav- 
age pagans  of  the  wilderness;  send  me  from  all  that 
is  called  comfort  in  the  earth;  send  me  even  to  death 
itself,  if  it  be  but  in  thy  service  and  to  promote  thy 
kingdom."  He  was  willing  to  spend  his  life,  even  to 
his  latest  moment,  in  den>;  and  caves  of  the  earth,  if 
the  kingdom  of  God  might  thereby  be  advanced.  His 
lodging  was  a  heap  of  straw  laid  ui)on  some  boards. 


204  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

His  diet  consisted  mostly  of  hasty  pudding,  boiled 
corn,  and  bread  baked  in  the  ashes,  and  sometimes  a 
little  meat  and  butter.  He  had  to  go  or  send  ten  or 
fifteen  miles  for  bread.  Sometimes  it  was  mouldy  or 
sour  before  he  could  eat  it.  There  was  no  fellow- 
Christian  near  with  whom  he  could  take  sweet  coun- 
sel and  join  in  social  praj^er.  He  had  little  appearance 
of  success  to  comfort  him.  When  he  urged  the 
Indians  to  become  Christians  they  said,  "Christians 
lie,  steal,  drink,  and  are  worse  than  the  Indians." 
Within  a  year  he  spoke  of  the  amazing  things  God 
had  wrought  among  that  people.  There  was  a  surpris- 
ing change  in  their  tempers  and  behavior.  Morose 
savages  were  transformed  into  agreeable,  affectionate 
and  humble  Christians.  Their  drunken  and  pagan 
howling  was  turned  into  devout  and  fervent  praise  to 
God.  They  who  sometime  were  darkness  are  now 
light  in  the  Lord.  Brainerd  gave  himself  wholly  to 
this  work.  He  prayed  for  the  conversion  of  the  In- 
dians till  his  ''  body  was  quite  wet  with  sweat."  He 
longed  to  be  a  flame  of  fire,  continually  glowing  in  the 
divine  service,  and  building  up  Christ's  kingdom  to 
his  latest,  his  dying  moment.  Living  as  he  did  alone 
in  the  wilderness,  in  a  hut  built  by  Indians,  with  few 
of  the  necessaries  and  none  of  the  comforts  of  life, 
far  from  civilized  society,  without  even  a  nurse  or  a 
physician  in  case  of  sickness,  sleeping  at  times  in 
empty  corncribs  on  the  bare  poles,  in  danger  of  per- 
ishing from  the  cold,  locking  his  door  at  night  to  keep 
out  the  wolf  and  the  bear,  or  climbing  up  into  a  tree- 
top  for  safety,  he  did  not  complain  of  his  lot  or  regret 
his  choice  of  work.  He  said,  "  I  declare,  now  that  I 
am  dying,  I  would  not  have  spent  my  life  otherwise 
for  the  whole  world."  Brainerd  died  in  his  thirtieth 
year,  but  tens  of  thousands  have  l^een  ennobled  by 
his  life.      Henry   Martyn,  Senior  Wrangler,    scholar 


MODERN  MISSIONS.  205 

and  saint,  was  led  by  reading  his  Journal  to  imitate 
his  example.  William  Carey  was  profoundly  im- 
pressed by  the  same  work.  Jonathan  Edwards,  the 
greatest  divine  of  his  age,  Avas  led  to  undertake  his 
work  among  the  Stockbridge  Indians  by  coming  into 
close  contact  with  this  seraphic  spirit. 

Bartholomew  Ziegenbalg  arrived  in  Tranquebar, 
India,  in  1706.  He  had  been  educated  in  Halle,  and 
was  sent  out  by  the  Danish  king.  The  Danish  East 
Company  gave  secret  orders  to  the  government  to 
offer  every  opposition  and  to  crush  the  mission.  He 
sat  down  with  the  children  to  learn  the  Tamil  lan- 
guage. He  translated  the  New  Testament  and  part 
of  the  Old.  Dying  at  thirty-six,  he  left  behind  him 
355  converts,  numerous  catechumens,  a  dictionary,  a 
seminary  and  schools.  Duff  spoke  of  him  as  "  infe- 
rior to  none,  scarcely  second  to  any  that  followed 
him." — Christian  Frederick  Schwartz  entered  India 
in  1750,  and  labored  there  for  nearly  half  a  century. 
He  was  trusted  and  admired  by  the  natives  and  by  the 
foreigners.  Under  his  ministry  converts  were  made, 
congregations  were  gathered,  schools  were  establish- 
ed and  orphanages  founded,  till  the  wilderness  around 
him  began  to  blossom  as  the  rose.  Schwartz  was  the 
peer  of  Bismarck  or  Beaconsfield  as  a  statesman.  It 
would  have  been  well  for  India  if  his  counsels  had 
been  everywhere  followed  by  all.  He  was  pos- 
sessed with  a  devotion  and  a  holy  enthusiasm  scarcely 
paralleled  and  never  surpassed. — Kiernander  went  to 
Calcutta  in  1758,  and  was  dying  when  Carey  arrived. 
The  Danish  Society  continued  its  Avork  till  the  close 
of  the  century,  when  Rationalism  cut  its  roots.  The 
first  work  in  India  was  done  by  the  Danes.  The 
English  were  seventy  years  in  the  country  before  they 
began  to  build  a  church;  the  first  governor-general  of 
Bengal  degenerated  into  an  avowed  pagan. 


206  MISSIONARY   ADDRESSES. 

The  Moravians  began  their  missionary  work  in  1732, 
At  that  time  they  were  a  community  of  six  hundred 
souls  living  on  the  estate  of  Count  Zinzendorf  in 
Saxony.  The  count  and  his  wife  threw  away  all  ideas 
of  rank,  surrendered  all  their  property  to  this  work, 
and  held  themselves  in  readiness  to  go,  staff  in  hand, 
to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  heathen.  In  twenty-five 
years  eighteen  missions  were  established  by  these  peo- 
ple. Their  members  went  to  Greenland,  to  Labrador, 
to  Lapland,  to  Tartary,  to  the  West  Indies,  to  the  Red 
Men  of  North  America,  to  the  Indians  of  South. 
America,  to  South  Africa,  and  to  New  Zealand.  The 
workers  went  out  without  purse  or  scrip.  The  first 
men  that  went  to  Greenland  were  asked  how  they  ex- 
pected to  live.  They  replied,  "By  the  blessing  of 
God  and  the  labor  of  our  hands.  We  will  cut  down 
some  timber  and  build  a  house."  When  told  there 
was  no  timber  in  Greenland,  they  said,  "Then  Ave  will 
dig  a  hole  in  the  ground  and  live  there."  Those  that 
went  to  the  West  Indies  had  nine  shillings  each  and 
their  clothes.  They  proposed  to  support  themselves 
by  working  at  their  trades.  Some  were  willing  to  be 
sold  as  slaves  that  they  might  have  the  privilege  of 
working  with  the  slaves  and  of  preaching  to  them 
while  they  worked  by  their  side.  Long  before  Father 
Damien  went  to  Hawaii,  Moravians  shut  themselves 
in  with  leper  colonies  that  they  might  win  the  lepers 
to  Christ.  Dober  said  on  starting  to  the  West  Indies, 
"Even  if  no  one  should  be  benefited,  and  no  fruits 
follow  my  labors,  yet  I  will  go,  for  I  must  obey  my 
Savior's  call."  Drachart,  on  going  to  Labrador, 
said,  "If  they  will  kill  me,  they  will  kill  me;  but  go  I 
must."  There  is  not  a  brighter  chapter  in  the  history 
of  the  church  than  that  which  records  the  labors  and 
the  triumphs  of  these  spiritual  children  of  Huss  and 
Wiclif.      In  150   years  they  sent   out   over   2,000  to 


MODERN  MISSIONS.  207 

labor  in  the  regions  beyond.     Cowper  speaks  of  them, 

' '  As  fired  with  a  zeal  peculiar  to  defy 
The  rage  and  rigor  of  a  polar  skj', 
To  plant  successfully  sweet  Sharon's  Rose 
On  icy  plains  and  in  eternal  snows.  ' ' 

There  were  several  societies  organized  before  the 
English  Baptist  Society.  In  1649  the  Long  Parlia- 
ment created  the  first  Protestant  Missionary  Corpora- 
tion. Oxford  and  Cambridge  warmly  approved  the 
measure,  and  the  army  contributed  to  its  funds.  Its 
work  was  among  the  Indians.  Cromwell  thought  of 
a  missionary  college,  and  mapped  out  the  world  into 
sections  for  Christian  conquest.  In  1701  the  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts 
was  organized.  It  began  work  at  Archangel  and 
Moscow.  Soon  it  had  its  agents  in  Newfoundland, 
the  West  Indies,  Nova  Scotia,  and  West  Africa.  It 
aimed  at  the  conversion  of  the  pagans  and  colonists. 
John  Wesley  spent  two  years  in  Georgia  under  its 
auspices.  In  1 709  the  Society  in  Scotland  for  Propa- 
gating Christian  Knowledge  was  organized.  Brainerd 
and  Edwards  were  its  agents.  These  societies  were 
small  and  could  do  but  little.  The  largest  did  not 
have  an  income  of  $30,000  in  any  year  of  the  first  cen- 
tury of  its  existence.  It  was  a  period  of  great 
apathy,  and  men  were  not  thinking  very  seriously 
about  the  spread  of  the  gospel. 

//.  Let  me  call  your  attention  to  the  beginnings  of 
this  work  in  the  present  era.  The  English  Baptist 
Missionary  Society  was  organized  in  1792.  Will- 
iam Carey  was  the  leader  among  that  people.  This 
man  had  been  a  dealer  in  second-hand  shoes.  As  he 
worked  at  his  cobblers'  bench  he  thought  of  the 
countless  millions  living  in  pagan  darkness,  and  he  re- 
solved with  God's  help  to  do  something  to  improve 
their  condition.      He  used  his  spare  moments  to  add 


208  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

to  his  stock  of  knowledge.  After  a  while  he  was 
licensed  to  preach.  His  church  was  small  and  poor, 
and  he  was  obliged  to  teach  school  to  help  earn  a  liv- 
ing for  his  family.  He  made  a  globe  of  leather  to 
represent  the  world,  and  as  he  pointed  out  the  differ- 
ent nations  upon  it  he  would  saj-,  These  are  Chris- 
tians, and  these  are  Mohammedans,  and  these  are 
Pagans.  As  he  uttered  the  word  "Pagans"  his  voice 
quivered  with  emotion  and  his  eyes  filled  with  tears. 
At  a  ministerial  conference  he  proposed  as  a  suit- 
able topic  for  the  next  meeting  this:  "The  Duty  of 
the  Church  to  Attempt  to  Send  the  Gospel  to  the 
Heathen."  The  presiding  officer  heard  the  proposal 
with  surprise  and  indignation,  and  springing  to  his 
feet  said,  "Young  man,  sit  down,  sir;  when  it  will 
please  the  Lord  to  convert  the  heathen,  he  will  do  it 
without  3'our  aid  or  mine!"  He  sat  down,  but  he 
could  not  be  silent.  He  continued  to  plead  in  public 
and  in  private  on  behalf  of  this  cause,  and  soon  oth- 
ers began  to  see  this  duty  as  he  saw  it.  The  next  year 
he  was  asked  to  preach  the  opening  sermon  to  the 
conference.  He  spoke  from  that  beautiful  passage  in 
Isaiah:  "Enlarge  the  place  of  thy  tent,  and  let  them 
stretch  forth  the  curtains  of  thine  habitations;  spare 
not,  lengthen  thy  cords,  and  strengthen  thy  stakes ; 
for  thou  shalt  break  forth  on  the  right  hand  and  on 
the  left."  He  dwelt  on  two  thoughts :  "Expect  great 
things  from  God;  attempt  great  things  for  God."  At 
the  close  a  collection  amounting  to  sixty-five  dollars 
was  taken  up.  Soon  after  a  society  was  organized, 
and  Carey  and  Thomas  were  sent  to  India.  In  course 
of  time  Marshman  and  Ward  joined  the  mission. 
Carey  and  his  associates  translated  the  Scriptures  into 
forty  different  languages  and  dialects,  thereby  giving 
380,000,000  souls  the  word  of  life  in  their  own 
tongue. 


MODERN  MISSIONS.  309 

Other  societies  .were  organized  soon  after  this. 
Thus  the  Loudon  Missionary  Society  was  organized 
1796.  This  Society  originally  represented  the  Inde- 
pendents, Presbyterians,  Methodists  and  Episcopali- 
ans. Since  Christ  is  not  divided,  it  was  decided  that 
those  co-operating  should  strive  not  to  promote  the 
interests  of  a  special  section,  but  with  united  earnest- 
ness to  make  known  afar  the  glory  of  his  person,  the 
perfection  of  his  work,  the  wonders  of  his  grace,  and 
the  overflowing  blessings  of  his  redemption.  Unfor- 
tunately, this  union  did  not  continue.  This  Society 
has  Missions  in  the  Pacitic  Islands,  in  Madagascar,  in 
the  West  Indies,  in  South  Africa,  and  in  India.  Such 
men  as  John  Williams,  Vanderkemp,  Moffat,  Living- 
stone, Morrison,  Milne,  Medhurst,  and  many  others 
almost  equally  renowned,  have  labored  in  connection 
with  it.  Three  years  later  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  was  organized.  This  Society  has  Missions  in " 
all  parts  of  the  world.  Its  income  is  larger  than  that 
of  any  other  Society. — The  Wesle^-an  Society  was 
organized  in  1813.  The  motto  of  that  Society  is, 
"The  world  is  my  parish." — The  Eeligious  Tract 
Society  v/as  organized  in  1791),  and  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society  in  1804.  Without  these  auxil- 
iaries the  missionaries  could  not  have  done  their 
work.  The  Bible  is  now  published  in  three  hundred 
languages.  The  Bible  Societies  have  published  nearly 
two  hundred  million  copies. 

Ten  years  after  Carey  was  silenced,  some  member 
of  the  Church  of  Scotland  called  attention  to  the 
question  of  missions.  The  leading  men  in  the  assem- 
bly declared  that  the  idea  was  fanciful  and  laughable, 
yea,  even  dangerous  and  revolutionary.  It  was  said 
that  it  would  be  highly  improper  and  absurd  to  send 
the  gospel  abroad,  while  there  remained  a  single  indi- 
14 


210  MISSIONARY   ADDRESSES. 

vidual  at  home  without  the  means  of  religious  knowl- 
edge. Some  one  proposed  to  solicit  offerings  for  this 
work.  It  was  said:  "For  such  improper  conduct 
censure  is  too  small  a  mark  of  disapprobation ;  it 
would  no  doubt  be  a  legal  subject  of  penal  prosecu- 
tion." Men  talked  in  this  strain  till  the  aged  Dr. 
Erskine  arose  and  said:  "Moderator,  rax  me  that 
Bible."  He  called  attention  to  the  commands  and 
promises  of  the  Lord  relating  to  this  work,  and  thus 
brought  the  assembly  to  a  recognition  and  to  a  per- 
formance of  a  long-neglected  duty.  It  was  not  long 
until  a  society  was  organized  and  some  of  the  choicest 
young  men  of  the  nation  were  sent  out  to  make 
known  the  gospel  of  salvation  to  those  who  knew  it 
not. 

The  moving  spirit  in  this  work  in  America  was 
Samuel  J.  Mills.  While  yet  a  child  he  heard  his 
mother  say,  "I  have  consecrated  this  child  to  God  as 
a  missionary."  In  1806  he  entered  Williams  College. 
The  next  year  he  invited  Gordon  Hall  and  James 
Richards  to  take  a  walk  with  him.  He  led  them  to  a 
retired  place  in  a  meadow,  and  there  they  talked  and 
prayed  over  this  work.  A  rain  coining  up,  they 
sought  shelter  under  a  haystack  till  the  clouds  should 
go  by.  Then  and  there  American  Foreign  Missions 
were  born.  These  young  men  formed  themselves  iuto 
a  society,  the  object  of  which  was  declared  to  be  to 
effect  in  the  persons  of  its  members  a  mission  to  the 
heathen.  Of  this  society  no  one  could  be  a  member 
who  was  under  any  engagement  that  would  keep  him 
from  going  whenever  and  wherever  the  voice  of  duty 
might  call.  Mills  said  to  a  college  friend,  "Though 
you  and  I  are  very  little  beings,  we  must  not  rest  sat- 
isfied till  we  have  made  our  influence  extend  to  the 
remotest  corner  of  this  round  world."  After  their 
graduation,  these  young  men  went  to  Andover,  where 


MODERN  MISSIONS.  211 

they  were  joined  by  such  men  as  Adoniram  Judson 
and  Samuel  Newell.  The  American  Board,  the  Amer- 
ican Bible  Society,  and  many  other  great  results  came 
from  that  prayer-meeting  in  the  meadow  and  under 
the  haystack. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  beginnings  were  small  and 
unpromising,  but  the  growth  has  been  constant  and 
rapid.  At  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  there 
were  seven  societies;  now  there  are  three  hundred. 
Then  there  were  seventy  missionaries ;  now  there  are 
over  five  thousand,  and  fifty  thousand  native  help- 
ers. Then  the  entire  income  did  not  exceed  $250,000; 
now  it  is  more  than  $12,000,000.  Then  there  were 
not  over  50,000  converts;  now  there  are  3,000,000. 
Then  there  were  not  over  seventy  schools;  now  there 
are  12,000,  with  500,000  scholars.  The  work  is  grow- 
ing as  never  before.  God's  Spirit  is  in  it;  his  omnip- 
otence is  behind  it,  and  it  cannot  fail. 

///.  Let  me  call  attention  to  what  has  been  accom- 
plished in  the  present  missionary  era.  The  Sandwich 
Islands  were  discovered  by  Captain  Cook.  Nature 
has  bestowed  on  them  every  advantage  of  soil  and 
climate.  But  the  people  had  sunk  to  the  lowest 
depths  of  degradation.  They  were  drunkards,  thieves, 
and  debauchees.  The  family  relation  was  unknown. 
Two-thirds  of  the  children  born  were  destroyed.  If 
an  infant  was  sick  or  fretful,  its  mother  scooped  a 
hole  in  the  sand,  tossed  it  in,  covered  it  over  with 
earth  and  trampled  out  its  life.  The  sick  were 
removed  to  a  distance  and  left  to  perish.  The  aged 
and  infirm  were  taken  to  the  brow  of  a  precipice  and 
pushed  over.  The  insane  were  stoned  to  death. 
Human  sacrifices  were  frequently  offered.  In  1819,  a 
group  of  missionaries  landed  and  began  work.  It 
was  not  long  until  some  confessed  their  faith  in 
Christ.     In  course  of  time,  the  whole  population  was 


312  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

brought  under  Christian  influence.  The  record  of 
Titus  Coan's  work  in  Hilo  is  stranger  than  fiction. 
The  people  were  scattered;  he  could  not  go  to  them. 
They  decided  to  come  to  him.  Whole  villages  made 
their  home » near  the  mission  house.  They  built  their 
cabins  and  remained  there  for  two  years.  At  any 
hour  of  the  day  or  night,  a  tap  of  the  bell  would  call 
together  a  congregation  of  from  3,000  to  6,000. 
Meetings  were  held  daily.  Often  he  had  no  leisure, 
no,  not  to  eat.  He  preached  not  less  than  seven,  and 
as  often  as  thirty-five  times  a  week.  Once  he  had  to 
preach  three  times  before  breakfast.  The  people 
confessed  and  forsook  their  sins.  The  drunkard 
stopped  drinking.  Murderers  confessed  their  crimes. 
Stolen  goods  were  returned.  Quarrels  were  recon- 
ciled. The  lazy  became  industrious.  The  family  was 
established.  Marriage  was  esteemed  honorable. 
Schools  and  churches  were  built.  The  proportion  of 
those  that  can  read  is  larger  than  in  Boston;  the  pro- 
portion of  Christians  is  as  great  as  anywhere  else  in 
Christendom.  The  people  have  made  progress  in 
agriculture,  commerce,  industries,  literature  and  art. 
There  are  now  fifty-eight  self-supporting  churches. 
They  have  a  society  of  their  own,  and  send  workers 
into  Micronesia.  Thirty  per  cent  of  their  ministers 
and  twenty-two  per  cent  of  their  contributions  go  to 
the  foreign  field. — Fiji  was  the  darkest  place  on 
earth.  Now,  out  of  a  population  of  120,000,  there 
are  102,000  that  regularly  attend  public  worship.  In 
every  family  there  is  pra3^er  night  and  morning.  The 
heathenism  which  still  exists  is  in  the  mountain  dis- 
tricts. As  it  is  surrounded  on  all  sides  hy  a  Christian 
population,  it  is  rapidly  dying  out.  An  English  ofii- 
cer,  who  attended  service,  said:  "I  was  very  much 
impressed  by  what  I  saw.  Only  fifty  years  ago  every 
man  before  me  was  a  canni])al.     Close  to  me  sat  an 


MODERN  MISSIONS.  213 

old  chief,  Bible  in  hand,  who  was  twenty  years  before 
one  of  the  most  sanguinary  and  ferocious  of  this  ter- 
rible land.  Within  twenty  yards  of  me  is  the  site  of 
the  fatal  oven,  with  the  tree  still  standing  covered 
with  notches  that  marked  each^ew  victim."  The 
crimes  and  vices  of  heathenism  have  giv^cn  place  to 
the  virtues  and  graces  of  Christianity. — The  Society 
and  Friendly  Islands  were  the  scene  of  the  first  labors 
of  the  London  Missionary  Society.  For  twenty  years 
the  missionaries  toiled  and  prayed  before  they  saw 
any  fruit.  "Then  the  great  harvest  began.  The 
chiefs,  following  the  king,  who  was  the  first  baptized 
convert,  burnt  their  idols.  Wonderful  revivals  fol- 
lowed, and  in  twenty  years  Christianity  became  the 
only  religion  through  a  space  of  three  thousand 
miles." — Paton  spent  his  life  on  one  of  the  New 
Hebrides.  He  saw  fourteen  thousand  cannibals  brought 
to  sit  at  the  feet  of  Jesus.  Under  the  gospel  old 
things  passed  away,  and  all  things  became  new.  The 
people  built  their  own  church  and  school,  and  kept 
them  in  repair.  Indu:^try  increased.  Huts  and  plan- 
tations were  safe.  In  their  savage  state  every  man, 
in  traveling,  carried  all  his  valuables  with  him;  now 
they  are  secure  at  home. — The  Solomon  and  Loyalty 
Islands  have  been  evangelized.  It  was  to  these  that 
the  Selwyns  and  Patteson  devoted  their  lives.  Three 
hundred  islands  in  the  Pacific  have  been  redeemed 
from  savagery,  and  are  now  in  turn  carrying  the  light 
to  those  who  are  still  in  darkness. 

The  natives  of  New  Zealand  and  of  Australia,  Java, 
Borneo,  Celebes,  New  Guinea,  and  Formosa,  have 
the  gospel.  Karl  Ritter  speaks  of  the  change  that 
has  taken  place  in  the  New  Zealanders  as  "the  stand- 
ing miracle  of  the  age."  Speaking  of  Celebes,  Wal- 
lace said  that  the  missionaries  had  much  of  which  to 
be  proud.     "Forty  years  ago  the  country  was  a  wil- 


214  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

derness,  the  people  naked  savages,  garnishing  their 
rude  houses  with  human  heads.  Now  it  is  a  garden, 
worthy  of  its  sweet  native  name,  Minahata."  Mackay 
found  Formosa  in  darkness.  IdoUitry  was  rampant. 
There  were  no  chiliches,  no  hospitals,  no  students, 
no  friends.  He  speaks  of  the  persecutions,  trials, 
and  woes;  of  sleepless  nights;  of  traveling  barefoot, 
drenched  with  wet;  of  nights  in  ox  stables,  damp 
huts,  and  filthy,  small,  dark  rooms;  of  the  days  with 
students  in  wet  grass  on  the  mountain  tops  and  b}' 
the  seaside ;  of  the  visits  in  a  savage  country,  among 
the  aborigines.  After  fourteen  years  of  such  experi- 
ences he  could  say,  "There  are  now  hospitals  as  well 
as  churches;  native  clergymen  as  well  as  teachers, 
colleges  as  well  as  primary  schools,  in  Formosa,  and 
the  native  Christians  largely  aid  them." 

Madagascar  was  entered  by  missionaries  in  1820. 
The  king  welcomed  them.  Eight  years  after  he  died. 
His  pagan  queen  succeeded  him.  She  was  a  veritable 
Nero.  The  missionaries  were  banished,  the  converts 
must  recant  or  die.  They  sought  safety  in  the  jungles 
or  in  the  hills.  The  queen  declared  that  the  depths 
of  the  earth  must  be  reached,  that  the  rivers  and 
lakes  must  be  dragged  with  nets  to  find  them.  Spies 
tracked  them  to  the  mountains.  Those  that  were  dis- 
covered died  without  mercy.  They  were  burned,  the}' 
were  poisoned,  they  were  drowned,  the}'  were  thrown 
over  preci[)ices.  But  the  work  did  not  die.  It  had 
in  it  the  power  of  an  endless  life.  As  in  the  apos- 
tolic time,  "The- word  of  the  Lard  grew  mightily  and 
prevailed."  The  savage  queen  died.  Her  successor 
was  a  Christian.  With  her  coronation  the  persecu- 
tion ceased.  Madagascar  is  the  pearl  of  the  mission 
fields. 

In  Africa  there  are  seven  hundred  ordained  work- 
ers and  800,000  adherents  to  Christianity.      The  mes- 


MODERN  MISSIONS.  315 

sengers  of  the  churches  are  pressing  into  the  heart  of 
this  continent  from  every  side.  They  have  established 
stations  along  the  Nile,  the  Zambesi,  the  Niger,  and 
the  Congo.  The  land  consecrated  by  the  lives  of 
Moffat,  Livingstone,  Johnson,  Crowther,  Steere, 
Mackay,  Arnot,  the  Combers,  Greenfell,  Hannington, 
Coillard,  Hore,  and  many  other  kindred  spirits, 
must  be  redeemed.  Nothing  can  arrest  the  work. 
Since  the  Universities'  Mission  was  started,  thirty-six 
young  men  and  aiftidens  have  found  rest  in  African 
graves.  If  one  or  a  score  fall,  others  are  .found  to 
fill  the  vacancy  and  carry  on  the  work.  Of  part  of 
the  continent  it  is  said,  "The  whole  land  is  a  Sodom; 
and  these  benighted  people,  whose  conscience  is  dead, 
literally  glory  in  their  shame."  "Their  highest  object 
of  adoration  is  Satan,  whom  they  represent  to  be 
white."  The  greater  the  degradation  the  greater  the 
need.  So  the  workers  persevere.  One  writes,  "I 
have  lost  my  only  horse,  the  gift  of  a  friend;  and  a 
horse  here  is  a  fortune,  an  acquisition  bej'ond  our 
means.  But,  though  no  longer  young,  I  am  ready 
cheerfully  to  tramp  the  burning  sand  and  the  deep 
mud,  under  this  torrid  sun,  to  make  known,  as  far  as 
I  can,  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation."  Another  said, 
"I  am  one  of  those  men  whose  dead  bodies  will  fill 
the  trench  to  make  it  easier  for  others  to  come  after 
us,  and  walk  over  us,  and  take  the  citadel." 

Prior  to  1859  Japan  was  one  of  the  Hermit  nations. 
One  edict  ran  thus:  "The  evil  sect  called  Christians 
is  strictly  prohibited.  Suspected  persons  should  be 
reported  to  the  proper  officers,  and  rewards  will  be 
given."  Another  said,  "While  the  sun  warms  the 
earth,  let  no  Christian  be  so  bold  as  to  enter  Japan. 
And  let  all  know  that  if  the  King  of  Spain  or  the 
Christians'  God  should  violate  this  edict  he  will  pay 
the  penalty  with  the  loss  of  lij^  head."     Shipwrecked 


216  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

seamen  were  put  into  cages  and  carried  through  the 
country  on  exhibition.  Readers  of  the  Bible  were 
imprisoned.  In  1853  Commodore  Perry,  an  American 
sailor,  steamed  into  the  Bay  of  Yeddo,  spread  the 
American  flag  on  the  capstan,  opened  the  Bible,  read 
and  sang  the  one  hundredth  psalm,  and  opened  Japan 
to  the  gospel.  There  are  now  364  organized  churches 
and  about  40,000  Christians  in  the  Sunrise  Kingdom. 

China  was  once  spoken  of  as  the  Gibraltar  of  pa- 
ganism. Its  language  was  said  to  be  specially  invented 
by  the  devil  for  the  express  purpose  of  keeping  out 
the  gospel.  The  people  regarded  themselves  as  im- 
measurably superior  to  all  other  nations.  Public  doc- 
uments spoke  of  foreigners  as  barbarians;  the  peo- 
ple spoke  of  them  as  foreign  devils.  They  felt  that 
they  had  everything  they  needed  within  their  own 
borders,  and  did  not  wish  any  intercourse  or  com- 
merce with  surrounding  peoples.  It  was  not  till  1842, 
at  the  close  of  the  first  opium  war  with  England,  that 
five  ports  were  open  to  the  gospel.  At  the  close  of 
the  second  opium  war  in  1860,  the  whole  empire  was 
thrown  open.  There  are  now  about  50,000  Christians 
in  the  empire.  Missionaries  are  at  Avork  in  most  of 
the  provinces.  Schools  have  been  opened,  orphan- 
ages, hospitals,  dispensaries,  asylums  have  been  es- 
tablished. Hundreds  of  books  have  been  translated. 
The  Bible  has  been  spread  broadcast.  The  gospel  is 
making  way  in  the  face  of  all  opposition.  China  be- 
longs to  Christ.  He  died  to  redeem  it,  and  he  alone 
shall  have  it.  Buddha,  Confucius,  Mencius  and 
Laotse  must  surrender  their  claims  to  this  land  and 
this  people. 

Sixty  years  ago  a  decree  went  forth  from  Calcutta, 
"The  missionaries  must  not  preach  to  natives,  nor 
allow  native  converts  to  do  so."  One  of  the  direct- 
ors said   he  would   rather   have  a  band  of  devils  in 


MODERN  MISSIONS.  217 

India  than  a  group  of  missionaries.  The  Hindus  are 
averse  to  any  change  of  faith.  Baptism  exposes  one 
to  loss  of  employment,  to  starvation,  the  burning  of 
his  homestead,  destruction  of  crops  and  cattle.  We 
are  told  that  the  sternest  boycotting  pursues  a  recre- 
ant. Every  malignant  device  is  exhausted  to  bring 
about  a  relapse  or  to  cover  the  convert  with  shame. 
The  work  has  prospered  in  spite  of  all  obstacles.  It 
is  stated  on  good  authority  that  amongst  the  rural 
population,  in  hundreds  and  thousands  of  villages 
there  is  a  distinct  mass-movement  towards  Christian- 
ity. There  are  millions  who  would  speedily  become 
Christians  if  messengers  of  the  churches  could  reach 
them,  take  them  by  the  hand,  and  not  only  baptize 
them,  but  also  lead  them  into  all  Christian  living. 
There  are  not  less  than  500,000  Christians  in  India. 
Did  time  permit,  it  would  be  pleasant  to  show  what 
has  been  done  inBurmah,  in  Greenland,^  in  Persia,  in 
Siam,  in  Turkey,  among  the  North  American  Indians. 
"A  survey  of  missions  is  now  a  survey  of  the  world." 
Missionaries  are  found  under  every  sky  from  the  polar 
sea  to  Tierra  del  Faego.  Wherever  they  hav^e  gone 
they  have  brought  blessing  to  the  peoples.  Dr.  Kane, 
speaking  of  Greenland,  said,  "Before  missionaries 
came,  murder,  burial  of  the  living,  and  infanticide 
were  not  numbered  among  crimes.  It  was  unsafe  for 
vessels  to  touch  upon  the  coast;  but  now  Greenland 
is  safer  for  the  wrecked  mariner  than  many  parts  of 
our  own  coast."  Danenhower  and  his  crew,  after 
their  ship  went  down,  started  out  to  seek  for  food  and 
shelter.  When  worn  out  with  long  marching  and 
scurvy,  the}'  fell  in  with  some  Eskimos.  They  could 
not  speak  a  word  of  their  language.  But  the  Eski- 
mos took  crosses  from  their  bosoms  and  kissed  them. 
The  cross  was  a  pledge  of  safety.  Danenhower  said 
afterward,  "I  never  felt  so  grateful  to  missionaries  as 


318  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES, 

I  did  when  I  found   that  we  were  among  Christian 
natives/' 

IV.  Liet  me  speak  of  the  change  in  public  sentiment 
respecting  missions  in  the  piresent  era.  A  century  ago 
the  thought  of  sending  out  missionaries  was  greeted 
with  ridicule.  Sydney  Smith  set  all  England  laughing 
at  "the  consecrated  cobblers."  It  seemed  absurd  to 
him  that  any  one  should  trouble  himself  about  420,- 
000,000  pagans,  much  less  attempt  their  conversion. 
The  task  seemed  a  hopeless  one,  and  the  people  en- 
gaged in  it  utterly  uniit  for  such  a  work.  He  called 
them  ferocious  Methodists  and  impious  coxcombs. 
When  they  complained,  he  said  a  weasel  might  as  well 
complain  when  throttled  for  sucking  eggs.  He  as- 
serted that  the  converted  Brahraans  would  stuff  them- 
selves with  rum  and  rice,  and  after  borrowing  all  the 
money  they  could  from  the  missionary,  would  run 
away,  and  corer  the  gospel  and  its  professors  with 
every  species  of  ridicule  and  abuse.  Dickens  and 
Kingsley  echoed  these  vulgar  sneers.  Before  a  Com- 
mission of  Lunacy,  one  doctor  thought  it  conclusive 
evidence  of  a  woman's  insanity  that  she  had  contrib- 
uted to  missions.  Great  Britain  has  now  over  four 
thousand  workers  in  the  field.  A  writer  in  the  Quar- 
terly Review  states  that  the  sees  of  Lichfield,  Exeter 
and  Hereford,  and  even  the  princely  throne  of  Dur- 
ham, are  adding  to  their  dignity  by  sending  forth  from 
episcopal  palace  and  castle  those  who  might  justly 
expect  high  honor  and  advancement  at  home.  He 
adds  that  Cambridge  sent  the  most  learned  of  its  Ara- 
bic professors  to  win  the  Mohammedans  at  Aden,  and 
the  foremost  of  its  cricketers  to  no  less  arduous  work 
in  China.  An  Archbishop's  daughter  provides  for 
the  education  of  Arab  boys  in  Egypt,  and  daughters 
of  lay  peers  superintend  and  cheer  by  their  presence 
the   Zenana  workers   in  India.       The    great   English 


MODERN  MISSIONS.  219 

papers  speak  in  high  praise  of  the  workers  and  their 
work.  The  "bray"  of  Exeter  Hall  has  become  a 
clarion  call  to  go  up  and  possess  the  whole  land. 
David  Livingstone  sleeps  in  Westminster  Abbey, 
the  Pantheon  of  the  British  Empire,  among  kings 
and  nobles,  among  the  mighty  men  who  fertilized  the 
Avorld  with  their  discoveries  and  inventions.  Carey 
and  Judson  were  not  allowed  to  settle  under  the 
British  flag.  The  East  India  Company  Vv'as  afraid 
that  they  would  stir  up  strife  and  cut  down  dividends. 
Now  the  men  who  are  responsible  for  the  peace  and 
prosperity  of  India  regard  missions  as  indispensable. 
They  speak  of  them  as  the  greatest  benefactors  of 
the  country.  Sir  Charles  Elliott,  Lieutenant  Govern- 
or of  Bengal,  said,  "I  am  bold  to  say  that  if  missions 
did  not  exist,  it  would  be  our  duty  to  invent  them." 

At  the  beginning  of  this  century  the  General  As- 
sembly of  Scotland  thought  the  idea  of  sending  the 
gospel  to  non-Christian  nations  was  fanciful  and  dan- 
gerous. They  thought  that  it  was  their  duty  to  Chris- 
tianize every  individual  at  home  before  doing  anything 
abroad.  But  now  the  churches  of  Scotland  are 
among  the  foremost  in  missionary  zeal  and  liberality. 
They  know  that  if  they  wait  till  every  soul  within 
their  own  borders  is  won  to  the  faith  before  they  do 
anything  elsewhere,  they  will  have  to  wait  forever. 
The  work  abroad  helps  the  work  at  home ;  it  does  not 
hinder  it.  Scotland  is  as  proud  of  such  men  as  Mof- 
fat and  Duif  and  Livingstone  and  Mackay,  as  she  is  of 
Bruce  and  Wallace  and  Scott  and  Burns.  She  has 
built  in  her  capital  a  monument  to  her  great  son  who 
went  through  Africa  with  Bible  in  one  hand  and  ax 
in  the  other. 

When  those  j'oung  men  in  Williams  College  organ- 
ized themselves  into  a  missionary  society,  they  deemed 
it  prudent   to   keep   the   fact   a   secret.     They   w'ere 


220  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

afraid  of  a  storm  of  opposition  that  would  wreck  all 
their  plans  and  hopes.  After  graduation,  when  they 
presented  their  thoughts  to  their  brethren,  they 
asked  if  they  considered  them  visionary  and  imprac- 
ticable, and  if  not,  whether  in  carrying  them  out  they 
might  expect  the  necessary  aid  from  them.  Now 
there  is  scarcely  a  church  in  the  land  that  does  not 
feel  some  interest  in  this  work.  Every  young  man 
that  offers  himself  is  sure  of  congratulations  from  all 
quarters.  The  very  meadow  where  those  young  men 
met  is  enclosed  as  a  memorial  park,  and  the  Haystack 
Monument  is  scarcely  less  famous  and  sacred  than 
Bunker  Hill  and  Plymouth  Rock.  At  every  Com- 
mencement the  college  president  leads  to  this  monu- 
ment a  procession  of  alumni,  students  and  guests. 
Prayer  is  offered  that  the  spirit  of  missions  may  still 
prevail  at  Williams,  and  that  the  traditions  of  the 
past  may  be  maintained. 

Missionaries  have  contributed  to  every  worthy 
cause.  They  have  contributed  to  ethnology,  geog- 
raphy, botany,  comparative  religion,  comparative 
philosophy,  and  almost  every  branch  of  science. 
They  have  created  markets  for  manufacturers.  Mof- 
fat said,  "Missionaries  to  a  barbarian  people  deserve 
a  vote  of  thanks  from  the  commercial  world."  They 
have  shown  themselves  to  be  helpers  and  friends  of 
mankind.  A  New  York  merchant  visited  India  and 
saw  the  workers  in  the  field.  He  visited  Lucknow, 
Cawnpore,  and  Delhi.  He  stood  beside  the  graves  of 
Havelock  and  Lawrence.  He  read  the  tablet  of  Lord 
Napier,  upon  which  he  inscribed  the  names  of  the 
gallant  men  who  carried  the  Cashmere  gate  by  storm. 
But  he  declared  that  no  soldier  who  died  trying  to  do 
his  duty  has  deserved  better  of  his  kind  than  the 
brave  men  and  women  who  fall  daily  with  tlie  fever 
of  the  jungle,   and  cholera,   and  are  with  heroic  self- 


MODERN  MISSIONS.  221 

sacrifice  wearing  out  their  li\'es  silently  for  the  good 
of  others.  United  States  Consul  Sickles  said,  ''Be- 
fore I  went  to  the  far  east,  I  was  strongly  prejudiced 
against  the  missionary  enterprise  and  against  foreign 
inissionaries,#1iut  after  a  careful  examination  of  their 
work,  I  became  convinced  of  its  immense  value." 
Hyder  Ali  said,  "Do  not  send  me  any  of  your  agents, 
for  I  do  not  trust  their  words  or  treaties;  but  if  you 
wish  me  to  listen  to  your  proposals,  send  to  me  the 
missionary  of  whose  character  1  have  heard  so  much; 
him  I  will  trust  and  receive.  Send  me  the  CJtris- 
fian."  That  was  Schwartz.  It  was  for  this  illustri- 
ous missionary  that  the  young  Rajah  wrote  this 
epitaph: 

' '  To  the  benighted  dispenser  of  light , 
Doing  and  pointing  to  that  which  is  right ; 
Blessing  to  princes ,  to  people ,  and  me , 
May  I ,  my  father ,  be  worthy  of  thee . ' ' 

Some  have  had  their  eyes  opened  in  strange  ways. 
A  ship  was  wrecked  in  the  Pacific.  The  seamen,  who 
took  no  stock  in  missions,  were  driven  into  the  boats. 
Coming  to  an  island  by  stealth,  they  hid  themselves 
as  long  as  they  could.  Hunger  made  them  bold.  One 
of  them  ventured  to  the  top  of  a  hill  from  which  he 
could  see  the  homes  of  the  people.  His  comrades 
saw  him  swing  his  hat  and  heard  him  call,  "Come  on, 
boys,  I  see  a  church."  Another  crew  in  similar  cir- 
cumstances saw  a  black  object  on  the  shore;  kicking 
it  over,  one  of  them  saw  it  was  a  Bible  and  cried, 
"We  are  safe."  The  day  for  sneers  has  gone  by. 
Every  thoughtful  man  will  agree  with  McKenzie  when 
Jje  says,  "Among  the  glories  of  the  century  none  is 
greater  than  this.  All  other  enterprises  of  benefi- 
cence nmst  yield  to  this  magnificent  attempt  to  expel 
debasing  superstitions  and  convey  into  ever}^  heart 
the  ennobling  iniiuence  of  the  Christian  religion." 


222  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

Dr.  Stevenson  has  shown  that,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  Europe,  broadlj-  speaking,  was 
Christian;  and,  broadly  speaking,  beyond  Europe 
there  was  no  Christianity.  Mohammedanism  had  taken 
possession  of  as  much  of  Asia  and  Afriwi  as  had  been 
brought  under  the  influence  of  the  gospel.  Luther 
felt  that  in  another  hundred  years  all  would  be  over. 
"God's  Word  will  disappear  for  want  of  men  to 
preach  it."  For  three  hundred  years  after  Luther, 
the  Reformation  did  nothing  for  the  enlargement  of 
the  kingdom.  A  learned  theologian  spoke  of  the 
heathen  as  "dogs  and  swine."  Bishop  Butler  de- 
clined the  archbishopric  of  Canterbury,  alleging  that 
it  was  too  late  to  save  a  falling  church.  Blackstone 
visited  all  the  leading  churches  in  London  and  could 
discover  no  more  Christianity  in  the  sermons  than  in 
the  writings  of  Cicero  or  Seneca.  While  the  church 
was  thinking  only  of  itself  and  giving  no  thought  to 
the  unsaved  nations,  it  came  perilously  near  losing 
what  truth  and  life  it  had.  Warneck  has  shown  that 
Cook's  Voyages  gave  new  life  to  the  interest  felt  by 
Christendom  in  foreign  lands  and  peoples.  The  French 
Revolution,  the  War  of  Independence,  and  the  aboli- 
tion of  slavery  throughout  the  British  Emi^ire,  gave 
currency  to  new  ideas  of  political  freedom  and  the 
worth  of  man  as  man.  The  use  of  steam  and 
electricity  brought  the  heathen  world  to  our  doors. 
The  fullness  of  times  had  come.  With  the  hour 
came  the  man  who  was  to  sound  and  lead  the  ad- 
vance. Now  we  see  all  sections  of  Christendom 
animated  with  the  missionary  spirit.  Myriads  of 
hearts  that  were  deaf  to  any  appeal  are  now  open  and 
are  pouring  out  their  treasures  like  Horeb's  rock  be- 
neath the  prophet's  hand.  The  great  uprising  among 
the  young  people  and  the  children,  the  vast  and 
superb  literature  that  has  been  created,  the  army  of 


MODERN  MISSIONS.  223 

workers  that  has  been  sent  into  the  field,  are  indubi- 
table evidences  of  this  new  life  and  this  new  interest. 
We  can  say  now  of  the  missionaries,  "There  is  no 
speech  nor  language  where  their  voice  is  not  heard: 
their  line  has  gone  forth  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and 
their  words  unto  the  ends  of  the  world."  Churches 
have  been  planted  in  all  lands.  Many  of  these  are 
now  self-supporting  and  self-propagating.  The  Bible 
is  found  in  the  language  of  three-fourths  of  the  peo- 
ples of  the  globe.  As  of  old,  it  is  running  very  swift- 
ly. There  is  scarcely  a  ship  that  goes  to  the  heathen 
world  that  does  not  carry  reinforcements  and  sup- 
plies to  the  Avorkers.  In  all  hearts  there  is  the  in- 
stinct of  victory.  Those  who  have  surveyed  the  ene- 
my's position  and  ascertained  its  strength  are  most 
cheerful  because  most  confident  of  the  issue.  The}^ 
have  dismissed  their  doubts  and  their  fears ;  they  are 
absolutely  certain  that  Christ  shall  possess  and  fill  all 
things.  As  Christian  people  have  engaged  in  missions, 
they  have  grown  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth.  This  growth  has  led  in  turn  to  increased  mis- 
sionary activity,  and  has  strengthened  the  desire  that 
the  whole  earth  may  be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of 
the  glory  of  the  Lord. 


XII. 

MISSIONS  AMONG  THE  DISCIPLES   OF 
CHRIST. 

And  they  went  forth,  and  preached  everywhere,  the  Lord  working  with 
them,  and  confirming  the  word  by  the  signs  that  followed. — Mark  xvi.  20. 

Max  MiJLLER  says  that  where  the  spirit  of  truth 
exists  it  must  manifest  itself,  it  must  plead,  it  must 
persuade,  it  must  convince  and  convert.  It  would  be 
as  impossible  for  one  who  holds  the  truth  in  the  love 
of  it  to  be  silent  "  as  for  the  petals  of  a  flower  to  shut 
themselves  against  the  summons  of  the  sun  in  spring." 
The  Disciples  of  Christ  had  truth  which  the  whole 
world  needed.  They  felt  that  they  must  publish  it 
far  and  near.  They  talked  about  it  at  the  fireside,  in 
the  field,  on  the  street,  in  stage-coaches,  on  steam- 
boats, and  in  hotels.  Every  believer  felt  that  it  was 
his  privilege  to  make  known  the  truth  that  had  made 
him  free.  Armed  with  the  sword  of  the"  Spirit,  which 
is  the  Word  of  God,  he  was  ready  to  stand,  like  Atha- 
nasius,  against  the  world.  The  marvelously  rapid 
growth  of  the  Disciples  of  Christ  was  a  result  of  that 
evangelistic  crusade.  As  the  work  grew  the  necessity 
for  a  more  efficient  organization  of  the  churches  be- 
came apparent.  Two  hundred  thousand  people  were 
gathered  into  over  a  thousand  congregations,  and 
these  were  without  any  systematic  form  of  co-opera- 
tion. There  was  a  vehement  desire  expressed  from 
all  quarters  for  some  general  and  efficient  action  on 

the  subject,  for  some  more  digested  system  of  bring- 

(334) 


WORKERS   IN  JAPAN. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  H.  Guy,  Tokyo. 


MISSIONS  AMONG  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST.      235 

ing  all  the  energies  of  these  congregations  to  bear 
upon  the  world.  It  was  this  sense  of  need  that  led  to 
the  formation  of  a  society  which  has  been  the  parent 
of  all  our  missionary  societies.  Its  formation  marks 
an  epoch  in  our  history.  Speaking  on  Missions 
Amony  the  Disciples  of  Christ,  I  wish  to  give  an 
account — 

/.  Of  the  organization  of  the  American  Christian 
Missionary  Society.  For  several  years  Alexander 
Campbell  and  many  others  had  been  made  to  feel  that 
little  could  be  done  in  the  way  of  evangelizing  the 
world,  or  in  the  distribution  of  the  Bible,  or  in  edu- 
cation, without  co-operation.  Experience  had  dem- 
onstrated this.  The  Harbinger  confessed  and  lamented 
the  fact  that  the  existing  system  of  co-operation  was 
inefficient  and  inadequate.  The  truth  is,  the  existing 
system  was  the  absence  of  any  system.  Churches 
were  calling  for  preachers  and  for  financial  aid. 
Wolves  in  sheep's  clothing  were  making  havoc  of  the 
flock.  Great  and  effectual  doors  were  opening  at 
home  and  abroad,  but  there  was  no  one  to  enter.  The 
Disciples  of  Christ  had  come  to  the  parting  of  the 
ways.  They  must  decide  whether  they  were  to  co-op- 
erate and  make  the  truth  which  they  held  effective,  or 
continue  without  co-operation  and  come  to  naught. 
One  of  the  great  men  of  that  time  said,  "  Our  exist- 
ence as  a  people  is  involved  in  some  general  co-oper- 
ation for  the  conversion  of  the  world.  The  present 
is  a  momentous  crisis  with  us." 

In  response  to  a  call  for  a  convention  in  Cincinnati, 
in  October,  1849,  one  hundred  and  fifty  delegates 
assembled,  representing  ten  States  and  one  hundred 
and  twenty  churches.  Among  them  were  the  follow- 
ing: D.  S.  Burnet,  Walter  Scott,  James  Challen, 
John  O'Kane,  L.  H.  Jameson,  J.  M.  Mathes,  George 
15 


226  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

Campbell,  AY.  H.  Hopson,  Albert  Allen,  Dr.  Shackle- 
ford,  A.  D.  Fillmore,  J.  M.  Tilford,  L.  L.  Pinkerton, 
B.  U.  Watkins,  John  T.  Johnson,  Charles  Carlton,  S. 
K.  Hoshour,  J.  T.  Barclay,  W.  K.  Pendleton,  J.  J. 
Mo«s,  J.  M.  Henry,  Benjamin  Franklin,  C.  L.  Loos, 
T.  J.  Murdock,  Jonas  Hartzell  and  Richard  Hawle}^ 
Mr.  Campbell  wanted  to  attend,  but  was  kept  at  homo 
by  sickness.  The  delegates  from  Indiana  brought  a 
fraternal  letter  from  the  annual  meeting  in  Indianap- 
olis. In  it  they  said  they  were  fully  satisfied  that  we 
ought  to  form  a  regularly  organized  missionary  society 
for  the  purpose  of  sending  the  gospel  in  the  hands  of 
a  living  ministry  to  all  the  destitute,  uncultivated 
portions  of  the  Lord's  great  field — which  he  declares 
is  the]  world.  "  It  is  our  hope — entertained  with  the 
strongest  desire  of  being  realized — that  this  subject 
may  receive  a  due  amount  of  attention,  during  the 
sessions  of  your  meeting,  and  that  such  a  society  will 
be  formed  ere  you  adjourn."  They  were  not  disap- 
pointed. The  logic  of  the  situation  demanded  what 
they  confidently  expected.  John  T.  Johnson  oifered 
a  resolution  to  the  effect  that  a  missionary  society,  as 
a  means  to  concentrate  and  dispense  the  wealth  and 
benevolence  of  the  brethren  of  this  reformation,  in 
order  to  convert  the  world,  is  both  scriptural  and  ex- 
pedient. He  offered  a  second  resolution  to  the  effect 
that  a  committee  of  seven  be  appointed  to  prepare  a 
constitution  for  said  society.  After  due  deliberation 
these  resolutions  were  unanimously  concurred  in. 
The  constitution  adopted  has  been  amended  several 
times,  but  it  is  substantially  now  what  it  was  then. 
The  name  agreed  upon  was  the  "American  Christian 
Missionary  Society."  This  name  has  since  been 
changed  to  the  "General  Christian  Missionary  Con- 
vention." Alexander  Campbell  Avas  elected  Presi- 
dent; Jajnes  Challen,  Corresponding  Secretary;  and 


MISSIONS  AMONG  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST.     227 

Archibald  Trowbridge,  Treasurer.  There  were  twen- 
ty-five Vice-Presidents.  The  most  noted  of  these 
were  D.  S.  Burnet,  Walter  Scott,  T.  M.  Allen,  W.  K. 
Pendleton,  John  O'Kane,  John  T.  Johnson,  Tolbert 
Fanning,  J.  T.  Barclay  and  J.  J.  Moss. 

There  was  much  earnest  discussion,  but  the  best 
feeling  prevailed.  "The  passions  slept,  while  the 
affections  kept  their  vigils.  The  love  of  the  brother- 
hood, the  love  of  all  men  controlled  our  hearts.  The 
feeling  of  the  assembly  was  a  sublime  reflection  of  the 
love  which  bled  for  man  on  the  cross,  and  proposed  an 
all  sufiicient  remedy  for  their  woes  in  the  provisions 
of  the  apostolic  commission."  A  generous  sum  of 
money,  for  that  time,  Avas  pledged  to  carry  on  the 
work.  In  an  address  to  the  churches  announcing 
what  had  been  done  and  calling  for  co-operation,  D. 
S.  Burnet  voiced  the  feelings  of  the  delegates  and  of 
thousands  besides.  He  said,  "  The  hour  of  our  asso- 
ciated strength  has  arrived,  the  hour  which  shall 
demonstrate  our  union  to  be  more  than  uniformity  of 
sentiment,  a  oneness  of  mind  and  of  effort  arising" 
from  the  nature,  power  and  exaltation  of  the  holy 
truth  believed.  This  year  is  to  prove  us.  It  will  be 
decisive  of  our  character  and  our  destiny.  The  spirit 
which  we  now  exhibit  will  be  the  augury  of  our  fate." 
The  object  of  the  Society  was  to  promote  the  preach- 
ing of  the  gospel  in  destitute  places  in  this  and  other 
lands.  The  men  who  effected  its  organization  neither 
sought  nor  desired  that  it  should  have  dominion  over 
the  faith  of  the  churches.  Their  desire  was  that  it 
might  be  a  helper  of  their  work  and  their  joy.  Their 
one  and  sole  concern  was  that  it  might  aid  in  the  great 
cause  of  world-wide  evangelism. 

The  sentiments  of  the  men  who  were  prominent  in 
the  formation  of  this  Society  are  found  in  their  pub- 
lished utterances.     Thus  Alexander   Campbell  said: 


228  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

"The  missionary  institution  is  the  genuine  product  of 
the  philanthropy  of  God  our  Savior.  It  is  the  natural 
offspring  of  Almighty  love,  shed  abroad  in  the  human 
heart;  and,  therefore,  in  the  direct  ratio  of  evenj 
CJtristiaa^s  love,  he  is  x)0ssessed  of  a  missionanj 
spirit.''''  "  The  church  of  right  is,  and  ought  to  be,  a 
great  Missionary  Society.  Her  parish  is  the  whole 
earth — from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  the  Euphrates  to 
the  last  domicile  of  man.  A  Christian  community 
without  missions  and  missionaries  would  be  a  solecism 
in  creation,  and  a  gross  deviation  from  the  order,  the 
economy  and  the  government  of  the  universe."  "The 
missionary  field  is  as  broad  and  as  long  as  the  ter- 
raqueous globe.  Every  unconverted  human  being  on 
this  earth,  capable  of  understanding  and  believing  the 
gospel,  is  found  in  the  missionary  field.  Hence  the 
Lord  himself  commanded  his  prime  missionaries  to 
traverse  the  whole  world,  and  to  preach  the  gospel  to 
the  whole  human  race."  Among  the  last  words  that 
fell  from  his  lips  were,  Europe,  Asia,  Africa  and 
America.  As  his  great  soul  was  passing  from  the 
scene  of  his  triumphs,  he  was  thinking  of  the  evangel- 
ization of  these  continents.  James  Challen  said,  "The 
cause  of  missions  is  the  cause  of  God.  It  is  the  chief 
instrumentality  in  the  propagation  of  the  gospel." 
Walter  Scott  said,  "  '  Go,'  is  a  verb  in  the  imperative 
mood.  The  language  is  imperial  and  imperative;  it  is 
full  of  authority.  'Go  ye  into  all  the  world,'  to 
Europe,  to  Africa,  to  America  and  to  the  islands  of 
the  sea.  Leave  your  footprints  on  the  snows  of  the 
frozen  North.  Trace  out  pathways  into  the  flowery 
pampas  of  the  balmy  South.  Seek  the  setting  sun,  the 
far  West,  the  wild  prairies,  and  the  still  wilder  men 
that  inhabit  them.  Search  out  the  land  of  figs  and 
dates;  the  land  of  vines  and  olives.  Tread  over  the 
golden  sands  and  along  the  rivers  gleaming  with  dia- 


MISSIONS  AMONG  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST.      229 

monds  and  gold,  far,  far  away.  Go  to  those  who 
water  their  steeds  in  the  Rhine;  to  those  who  drink 
from  the  Seine,  or  who  bathe  in  the  Nile  and  the 
Niger,  the  sacred  Ganges,  Indus,  Bramaputra  and  the 
Irrawaddy.  Go  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  for  your 
success  will  be  in  the  ratio  of  your  mobility." 

One  objection  has  been  persistently  urged  against 
the  Society  from  the  first.  As  the  constitution  pro- 
vided for  Life  Directors  and  Life  ]VIembers,  it  was 
said  that  the  Society  was  built  upon  a  money  basis. 
There  were  those  who  claimed  that  this  was  radically 
wrong,  inasmuch  as  ail  Christians  are  equal.  This 
objection  is  theoretical  only.  Practically  it  has  no 
force,  for  the  reason  that  the  man  that  gives  nothing 
has  as  much  to  do  with  shaping  the  policy  of  the  So 
ciety  as  the  man  that  gives  his  thousands.  The  con- 
vention is  a  mass-meeting.  No  credentials  are  pre- 
sented. A  by-law  declares  that  all  members  of  the 
church  of  Christ  who  may  attend  the  convention 
shall  be  entitled  to  participate  in  its  deliberations. 
The  constitution  was  changed  twice  to  suit  those 
who  made  this  objection.  The  only  tangible  re- 
sult was  that  the  income  of  the  Society  was  greatly 
diminished  and  its  work  demoralized  and  almost  de- 
stroyed in  consequence.  It  was  found  necessary  to 
return  to  the  original  plan. — Another  objection  was 
urged  more  strenuously  than  this,  if  that  be  possible. 
There  were  those  who  held  that  the  Society  was  itself 
a  mistake,  and  they  called  for  its  dissolution.  The 
very  word  "society"  was  offensive  to  them.  To  meet 
this  objection  the  name  was  changed.  The  word 
"convention"  was  used  instead.  Some  States  used 
the  word  "co-operation"  for  the  same  reason.  .But 
changing  the  name  did  not  satisfy  the  objectors.  It 
was  not  the  name,  but  the  thing  itself,  to  which  they 
objected.     They  were  opposed  to  any  organized  effort 


230  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

to  evangelize  the  world.  These  people  overlook  the 
divine  law  that  wherever  there  is  life  there  must  of 
necessity  be  organization.  If  the  churches  are  to  dis- 
integrate and  die,  there  is  no  need  of  organization; 
but  if  they  are  to  live  and  grow  and  bring  all  their 
energies  to  bear  upon  the  world  in  the  most  effective 
way  possible,  they  must  organize.  If  New  Testament 
precedents  are  needed,  they  can  be  produced.  The 
word  "society"  is  not  used,  but  the  thing  is  there. 
Individuals  and  churches  did  associate.  What  the 
objectors  call  for  is  not  new.  It  was  tried  and  fou  nd 
wanting.  After  a  thorou  gh  test  the  Harbinger  pro- 
noun ced  it  "inefficient  and  inadequate."  It  was  the 
stress  of  circumstances  th  at  led  to  the  formation  of 
the  Society.  The  wisdom  of  that  measure  was  abun- 
dantly justified  by  results.  The  fruit  reveals  the  tree. 
The  fact  that  a  thousand  churches  have  been  founded 
and  that  several  thousand  have  been  materially  as- 
sisted bj'  it  should  count  for  something.  The  numer- 
ous and  unmistakable  tokens  of  divine  favor  demon- 
strate that  the  Lord  has  received  it.  The  fear  that 
the  Society  would  grow  into  an  oppressive  ecclesias- 
ticism  is  absolutely  groundless.  There  is  as  much 
danger  of  the  heavens  falling  or  of  the  law  of  gravi- 
tation being  suspended.  The  Society  has  no  desire  to 
interfere  with  the  independence  and  autonomy  of  the 
churches. 

//.  Let  me  give  some  account  of  the  loorh  of  this 
Society.  We  have  seen  that  it  was  intended  that  it 
should  conduct  Home  and  Foreign  missions.  Its  first 
work  was  done  in  Jerusalem.  Dr.  Barclay  and  family 
offered  themselves  for  that  field.  It  was  felt  by  all 
that  that  was  the  proper  place  in  which  to  begin. 
The  Jerusalem  mission  was  begun  in  1850,  and  was 
continued  till  186  1,  when  Dr.  Barclay,  owing  to  a  lack 
of  support,  felt  obliged  to  resign.      The  churches  in 


MISSIONS  AMONG  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST.      231 

Virginia  provided  the  funds  for  that  mission.    During 
the  war  the  churches  in  that  State  felt  unable  to  pay 
their  pledges.     Jerusalem  was  a  most  difficult  field. 
It  was  said  to  be  as  sterile  as  the  rock  on  which  the 
city  was  built.      Dr.  Barclay  said  that  every  convert 
was  a  brand  plucked  out  of  the  fire.      One   of  the 
reports  declared  that  a  standing  advertisement  in  the 
Holy  Land  of  our  existence,  our  faith,  and  our  ai7ns, 
was  worth  $2,000  a  year.      One  of  the  permanent  and 
precious   results   of  that   mission  was   Dr.  Barclay's 
noble  book,  The    City  of  the   Great  King.     The  mis- 
sionaries rendered  the  cause  of  Christ  most  faithful 
and  most  heroic  service. — Liberia  was  the  next  foreign 
field.     D.  S.  Burnet  heard  a  slave  in  Kentucky  deliv- 
ering an  address  on  temperance.       As  he  listened,  it 
occurred  to  him  that  here  was  the  man  to  go  to  Africa 
as  a  missionary.      At   his  suggestion  the   people  of 
Christian  County  bought  Alexander  Cross  and  gave 
him  his  freedom.      The  churches   of   Kentucky  pro- 
vided an  outfit  for  him  and  his  family  and  agreed  to 
support  him  for  one  year.     Early  in  January,  1854,  he 
landed  in  Monrovia.      He  spent  two  months  happily 
engaged  in  his  efforts  to  begin  his  missionary  labors 
under  the  most  favorable   auspices.      While  overtax- 
ing his  strength  he   exposed  himself  to  the   burning 
tropical  sun.     As  a  consequence  he  fell  in  a  few  days 
a  victim  of  African  fever.       His  little  son  was  with 
him  and  was  similarly  exposed  and  died  also.     Alex- 
ander Cross  was  the  first  missionary  sent  by  the  Dis- 
ciples of  Christ  to  die  on  heathen  soil  and  to  sleep  in 
a  heathen  grave.      All  honor  to  that  brave  man  who 
laid  down  his  life  for   his  own   people !     Year  after 
year  the  Society  called  for   some  one  to  take  up  the 
standard  that  fell  from  his  dying  hand,  but  there  was 
no  one  to  respond.— Jamaica  was  entered  in  1858,  and 
abandoned  in  18G6  for  want  of  means.     J.  O.  Beards- 


333  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

lee  did  a  good  work  in  that  field.  In  three  years  after 
his  arrival  he  reported  thirteen  stations  and  634  mem- 
bers. The  war  div^erted  the  thoughts  of  the  people 
from  this  work.  Failing  to  secure  the  funds  needed, 
it  was  found  necessary  to  retire  the  missionary  fami- 
ly. In  the  early  years  of  the  Society's  existence,  men 
were  called  for  to  go  to  China,  to  France,  and  to  Ger- 
many. The  managers  were  compelled  to  report  that 
suitable  men  did  not  volunteer. 

As  soon  as  Dr.  Barclay  was  provided  for,  the  Society 
turned  its  attention  to  the  needs  of  the  home  field. 
A  man  was  engaged  to  work  among  the  Cherokees. 
The  churches  in  Philadelphia,  Buffalo  and  Chicago 
received  encouragement  and  aid.  Three  men  were 
assisted  in  New  England,  Work  was  done  in  Maine, 
in  New  Brunswick,  in  Nova  Scotia,  in  Prince  Edward 
Island,  and  in  Canada  West.  Since  then  the  follow- 
ing cities  have  been  helped:  Selma,  Birmingham  and 
Anniston,  Alabama;  Ft.  Smith  and  Eureka  Springs, 
Arkansas;  Phoenix,  Arizona;  Pomona,  Los  Angeles 
and  Alameda,  California;  Denver,  Colorado;  Hali- 
fax, Toronto  and  London,  Canada;  Washington,  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia;  Jacksonville  and  De  Land,  Flori- 
da; Macon,  Georgia;  Boise  City  and  Moscow,  Idaho; 
Kansas  City,  Topeka,  Atchison  and  Wichita,  Kansas ; 
Louisville;  New  Orleans;  Boston;  Ann  Arbor,  Sagi- 
naw and  Kalamazoo,  Michigan;  Minneapolis  and 
St.  Paul;  St.  Louis;  Kearney,  Hastings  and  Omaha, 
Nebraska;  Roswell,  New  Mexico;  Brooklyn,  Troy  and 
liochester;  Fargo,  North  Dakota;  Raleigh  and  Wins- 
ton, North  Carolina;  Corvallis  and  Portland,  Oregon ; 
Sioux  Falls,  Huron,  Watertown  and  Aberdeen,  South 
Dakota;  Knoxville,  Chattanooga  and  Memphis;  Gal- 
veston, Houston  and  San  Antonio;  Salt  Lake  City; 
Olympia,  Tacoma,  Seattle  and  Walla  Walla,  Washing- 
ton;   Milwaukee;     Laramie,    Wyoming.     In  addition 


MISSIONS  AMONG  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST.      233 

to  those  the  following  States  have  been  assisted: 
Connecticut,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Mississippi,  New  Hamp- 
shire, Ohio,  Oklahoma,  South  Carolina,  Virginia  and 
Vermont.  This  list  is  designed  to  be  suggestive,  not 
exhaustive.  From  October,  1849,  to  October,  IcSlM, 
this  Society  received  $1,043,340.61  and  added  directly 
and  indirectly  to  the  churches  46,220  souls.  The 
number  added  is  no  measure  of  the  work  done. 
Churches  have  been  helped  to  secure  buildings  and 
preachers.  The  Society  has  been  a  bureau  of  inform- 
ation. The  secretaries  have  been  helpers  and  friends 
of  all  who  were  in  need.  The  State  organizations 
have  been  guided  and  strengthened.  This  Society 
created  a  missionary  sentiment  and  thereby  nuide  it 
easier  for  all  other  missionary  organizations  to  live 
and  do  their  work.  Its  organ  is  TJie  American  Home 
Missionary . 

The  receipts  of  the  Society  did  not  amount  to 
$10,000  a  year  for  the  lirst  ten  years.  There  was 
some  prejudice  and  much  indifference.  In  the  An- 
nual Report  for  1856,  D.  S.  Burnet  said:  "There  ex- 
ists among  many  of  our  people  a  very  inadequate 
idea  of  the  dignity  and  importance  of  our  missionary 
organization.  In  Israel  every  man  does  what  is  right 
in  his  own  eyes."  "There  is  much  difference  of  sen- 
timent in  regard  to  the  Foreign  Missionary  enterprise. 
Such  persons  seem  to  forget  the  aggressive  character 
of  our  holy  religion.  They  forget  the  word  go,  in  tlis 
commission;  their  mind  is  riveted  upon  tarry  ye!"' 
The  next  year  Benjamin  Franklin  said:  "The  mis- 
sionary spirit  is  on  the  increase,  just  in  proportion  as 
the  general  interests  of  the  cause  of  Christ  are  on  the 
increase.  We  must,  with  the  principles  we  hold,  at 
no  very  distant  period,  become  a  great  missionary 
people.  There  has  been  strong  prejudice  against  the 
Missionary  Society.    Tuis  we  have  labored  to  counter- 


234  MISSIONARY    ADDRESSES. 

act,  and,  I  think,  to  a  conj^iderable  extent  it  has 
abated."  H-^  goes  on  to  say  that  it  is  not  enough 
that  prejudici  be  removed,  interest  must  be  created. 
In  18(30  the  rt  jeipts  amounted  to  $15,831  25.  In  the 
report  for  the  year,  Isaac  Errett  said:  "We  congratu- 
late the  brotherhood  on  the  peaceful  close  of  another 
year  of  uninterrupted  and  enlarged  prosperity.  The 
current  of  success  has  been  disturbed  by  scarce  a  rip- 
ple on  the  surface.  There  is  hardly  enough  of  ad- 
versity to  mellow  the  prosperities  of  the  year." 
While  he  was  secretary  he  was  impressed  with  several 
facts.  He  speaks  of  a  growing  spirituality,  of  a 
rapid  increase  in  numbers,  and  of  more  enterprise 
than  in  former  j'ears.  He  felt  more  hopeful  than 
ever  respecting  the  missionary  cause.  Wherever  he 
went  he  was  cheerfully  met,  and  the' way  to  the  hearts 
and  purses  of  the  brethren  was  made  easy.  The 
preachers,  uniformly  gave  the  most  cordial  co-opera- 
tion. Under  his  peerless  advocacy  the  work  advanced 
by  leaps  and  bounds.  There  were  signs  of  promise  in 
the  darkest  hours.  Those  who  were  responsible  for 
the  management  and  maintenance  of  the  work  were 
quick  to  see  and  to  make  the  most  of  these  cheering 
indications.  By  their  patience  and  persistence  in 
years  when  there  was  much  opposition  and  little  fruit, 
they  made  large  success  possible  in  after  years.  They 
labored,  and  we  now  are  entering  into  their  labors. 
They  sowed,  and  we  and  distant  generations  shall 
reap. 

In  recent  years  two  new  departments  have  lieen 
created.  These  have  grown  into  most  valua])le 
auxiliaries.  The  Board  of  Church  Extension  was 
organized  in  1888.  For  several  years  prior  to  that 
time  a  committee  had  this  work  in  charge.  When  a 
separate  Board  was  created,  a  new  era  began.  The 
object   of   this   Board    is   to    help    churches    secure 


MISSIONS  AMONG  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST.      235 

buildings.  As  there  are  now  two  thousand  churches 
without  houses  of  worship,  and  as  new  churches  are 
being  organized  every  week,  it  will  be  seen  that  this 
Board  has  a  large  work  before  it.  It  loans  money, 
and  does  not  give  it  outright.  It  loans  on  first  mort- 
gage security  with  absolutely  clear  title,  with  the 
house  insured  for  the  full  amount  of  the  loan,  the 
money  to  be  paid  back  in  equal  annual  installments, 
£t  four  per  cent  interest.  This  Board  has  helped  to 
build  230  churches  in  thirty-four  States  and  Territo- 
ries. The  Church  Extension  Fund  amounts  now  to 
$102,000  in  cash.  In  addition  to  this  there  are  pledges 
aggregating  $115,000  payable  in  five  years.  The  ap- 
plications for  aid  average  about  one  a  day.  This 
work  has  commended  itself  to  the  judgment  and  the 
affections  of  Christian  people  everywhere.  All  that  is 
necessary  is  that  it  be  explained;  it  makes  its  own 
plea.  If  it  had  been  begun  forty  years  ago  there 
would  now  be  several  thousand  more  strong  and  fiour- 
ishing  congregations  than  there  are.  Tliis  Board 
stands  beside  every  evangelist  in  new  fields,  beside 
every  State  and  district  and  city  organization.  It 
proposes  to  weak  and  struggling  bands  that  it  will 
supplement  their  efforts  and  thus  enable  them  to  se- 
cure a  home  of  their  own.  Its  cheering  promise  puts 
an  end  to  panic  and  despair;  congregations  take 
heart  and  hope  and  undertake  and  accomplish  what 
otherwise  would  be  impossible.  The  Church  Exten- 
sion Board  is  the  strong  right  arm  of  the  General 
Christian  Missionary  Convention.  Its  organ  is  enti- 
tled Business  in  OhrisfianUij. 

The  Board  of  yer/ro  Evangelization  and  Educa- 
tion was  organized  in  1890.  The  first  year  of  its  ex- 
istence it  had  no  agent  in  the  field.  Consequently  its 
receipts  amounted  to  only  $35.00.  In  1891  C.  C.  Smith 
was  elected  Secretary.    Ho  began  his  work  in  January, 


236  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

1892.  Since  that  time  $25,000  have  been  collected  and 
disbursed  in  the  work  among  the  negroes.  There  are 
two  schools  connected  with  this  Board.  The  Bible 
School  is  located  in  Louis  ville,  Ky. ;  A.  J.  Thompson 
is  President;  Octavius  Singleton  is  his  assistant.  Last 
year  thirty-three  young  men  were  enrolled  and  made 
encouraging  progress.  They  were  taught  the  Bible 
and  other  things  necessary  to  an  efficient  ministry. 
They  are  trained  in  pr  caching  and  in  the  conduct  of 
public  worship  and  in  the  management  of  all  affairs 
relating  to  the  work  of  the  church.  They  are  given 
the  highest  ideas  of  character.  A  library  has  been 
started.  The  school  has  no  building  of  its  own,  but 
has  $3,342  in  available  funds  for  the  purchase  of  real 
estate.  The  ^Southern  Christian.  Institute  is  located 
near  Edwards,  Miss.  J.  B.  Lehman  is  President.  He 
has  four  assistant  teachers.  The  annual  enrollment 
is  about  one  hundred.  The  Institute  owns  a  large 
plantation  worth  at  the  present  valuation  not  less 
than  $15,000.  The  Board  hopes  that  more  convenient 
and  commodious  buildings  may  soon  take  the  place  of 
those  now  in  use.  The  growth  of  the  school  will 
make  this  imperative.  In  addition  to  the  work  done 
in  these  schools  this  Board  is  doing  evangelistic  work 
in  three  States,  and  helps  to  maintain  a  general  evan- 
gelist among  the  negroes.  In  addition  to  this  it  is 
helping  to  educate  a  number  of  young  men  in  other 
schools.  The  management  is  careful  and  conserva- 
tive. It  commends  itself  to  the  heart  and  conscience 
of  Christian  people  everywhere.  This  Board  has  a 
vast  field.  There  are  8,000,000  of  negroes  in  the  Uni- 
ted States.  They  need  the  gospel.  They  need  to  be 
taught  ail  things  pertaining  to  life  and  godliness. 
This  Board  is  seeking  to  provide  teachers  and  preach- 
ers of  their  own  race  to  do  this  work.     This  Board 


MISSIONS  AMONG  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST.      337 

deserves  the  confidence,  prayers,  and  financial  sup- 
port of  every  one  who  has  named  the  name  of  Christ. 
III.  Let  me  give  some  account  of  the  State  Socie- 
ties. The  churches  in  Kentucky  and  Indiana  began  to 
co-operate  in  1849.  The  Ohio  Society  was  organized 
in  1851.  The  other  State  organizations  came  hitcr. 
Theoretically  the  State  Societies  are  component  parts 
of  the  General  Society.  Their  officers  are  entitled  to 
seats  in  the  National  Convention.  Practically,  how- 
ever, nearly  all  the  State  Societies  are  wholly  inde- 
pendent of  the  General  Society.  Whatever  the 
relation,  they  work  in  harmony.  One  of  the  early 
reports  said  that  Kentucky,  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Mis- 
souri have  well-nigh  relieved  the  General  Society  of 
any  care  for  their  popuhitions.  In  these  States  the 
Disciples  of  Christ  were  com])aratively  numerous  and 
felt  able  to  conduct  the  work  within  their  own  bor- 
ders. In  the  new  States  and  Territories,  and  in  those 
States  in  which  we  are  weak,  and  in  the  large  cities, 
the  General  Convention  has  greatl}^  assisted  the  work. 
Thus  Nebraska  was  helped  for  many  years.  R.  C. 
Barrow  and  D.  R.  Dungan  testified  that  the  work  done 
in  that  State  could  not  have  been  doiie  without  the 
contributions  that  came  regularly  from  the  general 
treasury.  The  State  Society  did  what  it  could,  ])ut 
its  field  wa;5  an  empire,  and  the  churches  to  which  it 
could  look  for  revenue  were  few  and  most  of  them 
weak.  Kansas,  South  Carolina  and  Mississippi  were 
assisted  in  the  same  way.  In  like  manner  the  New 
England  co-operation  received  aid.  Had  it  not,  the 
church  in  Boston  could  not  have  been  planted  and 
sustained.  The  General  Convention  undertook  to 
give  the  congregation  in  "Washington  a  house  of  wor- 
ship. The  Disciples  of  Christ  in  the  District  of 
Columbia  and  in  Maryland  did  as  much  as  they  were 
able,  but  they  could  not  bear  the  whole  burden.     The 


238  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

State  Societies  have  done  far  more  than  is  generally 
supposed.  The  Ohio  Society,  foi-  example,  organized 
253  churches,  added  32,829  souls,  preached  72,980 
sermons.  Nearly  half  the  churches  in  the  State  owe 
their  existence,  under  Grod,  to  the  Society.  The  State 
Board  raised  and  expended  in  its  work  $381,536.38.  It 
helped  to  plant  or  to  sustain  churches  in  such  places 
as  Columbus,  Toledo,  Springfield,  East  Liverpool, 
Toronto,  Cleveland,  Lima,  Zanesville,  Cincinnati, 
Waynesville,  Piqua,  Urbana,  Kenton,  Bryan,  Canton, 
Steubenville,  Massillon,  Millerslrurg,  Kent,  Bellefon- 
taine,  Akron,  Tiffin,  Bowling  Green,  Wooster,  Ada, 
Eaton.  The  list  fills  several  pages.  The  record  of 
the  work  in  Kentucky  is  as  gratifying  as  in  Ohio. 
The  agents  of  the  Society  have  added  45,000  to  the 
churches.  In  the  past  nine  years  the  additions  aggre- 
gate 19,414.  In  that  time  126  churches  were  organ- 
ized. Churches  were  organized  in  the  following 
places:  Morehead,  Ashland,  ]\Iiddlesborough,  Harlan 
Court  House,  Bardstowu,  Corbin  and  Greensburg. 
In  the  past  seven  years  schools  have  been  estab- 
lished in  Columbia,  Corbin  and  Morehead.  Part 
of  the  records  of  the  Society  were  destroyed  hy  fire. 
Full  and  accurate  statistics  are,  therefore,  not  availa- 
ble. But  H.  W.  Elliott  states  that  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  the  Society  has  raised  for  missionary  purposes  in 
the  State  $400,000.  In  Missouri  a  maiVelous  work 
has  been  done.  In  eighteen  years  387  churches  have 
been  organized,  39,095  souls  have  been  added  to 
the  churches,  and  $455,134  have  been  raised  for 
church  buildings.  More  than  400  church  buildings 
have  been  erected  through  the  labors  of  the  evangel- 
ists of  the  State  Society.  In  ten  years  the  member- 
ship has  grown  from  56,000  to  136,000.  In  1830 
there  were  twenty  churches  in  the  State;  in  1895 
there  are  1,410. 


MISSIONS  AMONG  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST.      239 

The  State  Societies  report  from  the  beginning  as 
follows:  baptisms,  193,371;  other  additions,  101,787; 
churches  organized,  2,237;  raised  for  work  in  the 
States,  $2,986,644.75.  The  amount  raised  last  year 
was  $550,222.30.  Adding  the  additions  made  by  the 
agents  of  the  General  Convention  gives  a  grand 
total  of  221,518  baptisms,  119,862  other  additions, 
and  $4,029,985.36  raised  and  disbursed.  When  the 
Egyptians  saw  the  works  of  the  Lord  wrought  by 
Moses  they  said,  "  This  is  the  finger  of  God."  That 
was  the  only  adequate  explanation.  God's  hand  is 
as  unmistakably  seen  in  our  missionary  operations  as 
it  was  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile. 

The  State  Societies  ha,ve  done  far  more  than  raise 
money  and  found  churches.  They  have  fostered 
hundreds  of  congregations  that  were  weak  and  dis- 
couraged and  ready  to  perish.  They  unified  and 
harmonized  churches  that  seemed  hopelessly  divided. 
Their  evangelists  have  kept  in  touch  with  the  work 
in  every  part  of  the  field.  They  were  ever  ready 
to  lend  a  helping  hand  where  help  was  needed. 
They  have  aided  pulpits  in  securing  preachers, 
and  preachers  in  securing  pulpits.  Had  it  not  been 
for  their  wise  and  self-sacrificing  labors  many 
churches  that  are  now  strong  and  prosperous  would 
have  fainted  and  fallen  and  died.  In  the  face  of 
opposition  and  obloquy  they  kept  right  on,  guiding 
their  course  "solely  by  the  starlight  of  duty  and  the 
compass  of  divine  truth."  They  shall  have  their 
recompense  at  the  resurrection  of  the  just.  God  is 
not  unrighteous  to  forget  their  work  of  faith  and 
labor  of  love,  and  patience  of  hope. 

IV.  Let  me  call  your  attention  to  the  Christian 
Woman\s  Board  of  Missions.  This  Board  was  organ- 
ized in  1874.  Its  headquarters  are  in  Indianapolis. 
Its  objects  are,  to  maintain  preachers  and  teachers  for 


240  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

religious  instruction,  to  encourage  and  cultivate  a 
missionary  spirit  and  missionary  efforts  in  the 
churches,  to  disseminate  missionary  intelligence,  and 
to  secure  systematic  contributions  for  such  purposes; 
also  to  establish  and  maintain  schools  and  institutions 
for  the  education  of  both  males  and  females.  Ac- 
cording to  the  latest  Annual  Eeport  (1894)  there  are 
1,404  auxiliaries  with  an  aggregate  membership  of 
30,744.  There  are  auxiliaries  in  thirty-five  States. 
The  receipts  from  the  beginning  amount  to  $424,987.- 
56.  The  receipts  for  the  last  year  amount  to  $59,277.04. 
The  Christian  Woman's  Board  of  Missions  conducts 
Home  and  Foreign  missions.  Its  Foreign  work  is  in 
Jamaica  and  India,  In  Jamaica  there  are  seven  min- 
isters, eighteen  stations  and  1,600  members.  There 
are  ten  day  schools  and  seventeen  Sunday-schools, 
with  a  total  attendance  of  about  2,000.  The  work 
which  the  General  Christian  Missionary  Convention 
had  been  compelled  to  abandon  was  taken  up  by  this 
Board.  There  are  ten  workers  in  India.  The  build- 
ings there  are  a  bungalow,  a  school-house,  an  orphan- 
age, and  a  hospital.  The  States  of  Montana  and 
Colorado  are  its  special  field  in  the  United  States. 
Jeu  Hawk  is  carrying  on  a  Avork  among  the  Chinese 
in  Portland,  Oregon.  The  Board  assists  the  work 
in  Rochester,  Duluth,  North  Topeka,  Newport  News, 
Winston,  Sacramento,  Santa  Barbara  and  Ogden. 
Bible  chairs  are  maintained  in  Ann  Arbor.  Lect- 
ures are  given  on  the  Bible,  and  instruction  is 
given  in  Christian  work.  The  Board  has  a  school 
in  Hazel  Green,  Kentucky.  This  Board  works  in 
eleven  States  and  one  Territory.  Two  papers  are 
published — The  Missionary  Tidings  and  TJie  Little 
Builders  at  Work.  Both  are  conducted  with  great 
ability.  The  Christian  Woman's  Board  of  Missions 
has  done  good  work  in   the  field.     The   work  done 


MISSIONS  AMONG  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST.      241 

in  the  churches  is  of  no  less  value.  Thousands  of 
women  have  learned  how  to  pray  and  speak  in  public 
and  to  give  to  help  on  the  Lord's  work  in  the  regions 
beyond.  As  they  have  read  and  thought  and  prayed, 
their  own  hearts  were  made  better.  The  children 
whom  they  are  training  will  do  vastly  more  than 
the  present  generation  dreams  of  doing.  No  statistics 
can  give  all  the  results.  Eternity  alone  will  fully 
disclose  what  has  been  done  by  this  noble  organiza- 
tion. 

F".  Let  me  give  some  account  of  the  Foreign  Chris- 
tian 31issionary  Society.  We  have  seen  that  the 
American  Society  was  organized  to  conduct  Home 
and  Foreign  missions.  We  have  seen  that  it  carried 
on  a  work  in  several  foreign  fields  for  a  time.  At  the 
twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  that  society  it  was  said  by 
the  orator  of  the  occasion  that  in  all  the  wide  world 
outside  of  the  United  States  the  Disciples  of  Christ 
did  not  have  a  single  herald  of  the  Cross.  Jerusalem 
and  eTamaica  had  been  abandoned,  Liberia  had  been 
forgotten.  The  income  of  the  Society  for  that  year 
was  $5,172.28.  The  managers  did  not  feel  able  to 
enter  any  foreign  field.  This  being  so,  it  was  felt  by 
many  that  the  time  had  fully  come  for  a  society  to  be 
organized  to  work  in  the  heathen  world.  The  Foreign 
Christian  Missionarj'  Society  was  organized  in  Louis- 
ville, Kentucky,  October  21,  1875.  Isaac  Errett  was 
its  first  President;  W.  S.  Dickinson,  its  first  and  only 
Treasurer;  and  Robert  Moffett  its  first  Corresponding 
Secretary.  This  Society  is  at  work  in  England,  Scan- 
dinavia, Turkey,  India,  Japan  and  China.  It  is  ar- 
ranging to  enter  Africa  this  year.  Its  founders  ex- 
pected to  work  chiefly,  if  not  wholly,  in  non-Christian 
lands.  They  desired  to  preach  Christ  where  he  had 
not  been  named.  The  reason  they  did  their  first 
16 


242  MISSIONARY   ADDRESSES. 

work  in  Europe  was  that  men  could  not  be  found  to 
go  to  Asia  and  Africa.  The  Society  felt  that  it  ought 
to  have  workers  along  the  Nile  and  Niger  and  in  the 
crowded  cities  and  villages  of  China  and  Japan.  Had 
suitable  men  been  forthcoming,  they  would  have  been 
sent.  To  the  urgent  calls,  Who  will  go  for  us?  there 
was  no  response.  H.  S.  Earl  was  going  to  England  in 
any  event.  It  was  thought  that  it  would  be  a  good 
thing  for  him  to  go  in  connection  with  the  Society, 
though  he  went  at  his  own  charges.  Timothy  Coop 
and  his  sons  have  given  very  liberally  to  the  work. 
Their  liberality  and  enthusiasm  led  the  Society  to  en- 
large its  operations  in  that  field.  There  are  men  at 
work  in  London,  Southampton,  Liverpool,  Birken- 
head, Gloucester  and  Cheltenham.  The  churches  in 
Chester,  Ingleton,  and  Southport  are  self-supporting. 
The  buildings  at  these  points  are  worth  $100,000. 
There  are  six  preachers  and  1451  members  in  the 
churches  in  England. 

Dr.  A.  Hoick  went  to  Denmark  in  1876.  He  estab- 
lished a  church  in  Copenhagen.  In  addition  to  this, 
as  a  result  of  his  labors,  there  are  five  church  l)uild- 
ings  in  Norway  and  seventeen  preaching  stations. 
The  four  main  points  are,  Frederickshald,  Freder- 
ickstad,  Christiana  and  Holinsbo.  There  are  825 
members  in  Scandinavia.  In  1879  G.  M.  Shishmanian 
was  sent  to  Constantinople.  With  that  city  as  his 
headquarters,  he  has  opened  missions  at  Bardizag, 
Smyrna,  Sevas,  Zarah,  Antioch  and  Biridjek.  He  has 
evangelized  east  as  far  as  the  Euphrates.  A  little 
band  of  believers  is  found  in  Russia.  This  band  is 
the  fruit  of  his  labors.  Six  years  later  Dr.  Garabed 
Kevorkian  became  his  associate.  His  home  is  in  Mar- 
si  van.  He  superintends  the  work  in  that  city  and  m 
Kapon  Kara,  Haji,  Keni,  and  Checharshambah.  Some 
work  has  been  done  in  Marash,  Aintab  and  Alboos- 


MISSIONS  AMONG  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST.      243 

tan.  There  are  915  members,  508  children  in  the 
Sunday-schools,  and  31>3  in  the  day  schools.  There 
are  two  chapels  in  Turkey,  one  in  Smyrna,  and  one  in 
Marash.  The  workers  have  to  contend  against  pov- 
erty and  ignorance  and  superstition  on  the  part  of 
the  people,  and  against  hostility  on  the  part  of  the 
government.  The  authorities  seem  bent  on  ousting 
the  missionaries  and  arresting  and  destroying  their 
work.  To  this  end  nothing  that  has  a  tendencN'  to 
injure  and  discourage  the  workers  and  the  converts  is 
left  undone.  "He  that  sits  in  the  heavens  shall 
laugh."  No  weapon  [formed  against  the  truth  shall 
prosper.  Turkey  might  as  well  try  to  arrest  the  sun 
in  his  course  as  to  arrest  the  spread  of  the  gospel. 

In  September,  1882,  G.  L.  Wharton  and  Albert 
Norton  and  their  families,  with  five  ladies,  sent  by  the 
Woman's  Board,  sailed  from  New  York  for  India. 
This  was  the  first  attempt  to  enter  a  heathen  field 
since  Alexander  Cross  fell  in  Liberia,  a  period  of  over 
a  quarter  of  a  century.  The  unprecedented  increase 
in  the  receipts  of  that  year  showed  that  this  move- 
ment struck  a  popular  chord  in  the  hearts  of  the  peo- 
ple. There  are  stations  now  in  Hurda,  Bilaspur, 
Mungeli  and  Kawardha,  beside  several  out-stations. 
The  work  has  several  departments,  the  evangelistic, 
the  medical,  the  educational,  and  the  literary.  G.  L. 
Wharton  has  opened  a  Bible  and  Training  School. 
Dr.  Durand  has  built  a  hospital  and  leper  asylum. 
Four  bungalows  have  been  erected.  An  orphanage  is 
in  course  of  construction.  The  gospel  is  preached 
every  day.  Men  and  women  are  being  turned  from 
dumb  idols  to  serve  the  living  God.  Children  are  res- 
cued from  heathenism  and  trained  to  live  lives  of  use- 
fulness and  nobleness.  The  workers  and  their  help- 
ers go  out  into  the  surrounding  villages  and  preach 
Christ  and  sell  the  Scriptures.     They  are  sowing  good 


2U  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

seed  beside  all  waters.  Some  of  it  will  fall  into  good 
grouud  and  bring  forth  a  bountiful  harvest.  The  day 
of  large  numerical  results  has  not  yet  come,  but  it  is 
coming.  It  cannot  fail  any  more  than  any  promise  or 
purpose  of  Grod  can  fail.  Instead  of  the  thorn  shall 
come  up  the  fir  tree;  and  instead  of  the  brier  shall 
come  up  the  mj'rtle  tree ;  and  it  shall  be  to  the  Lord  for 
a  name,  for  an  everlasting  miracle  that  shall  not  be 
cut  off.  There  are  fourteen  missionaries  and  as  many 
native  helpers  in  the  mission  field  in  India.  Miss  Sue 
A.  Robinson  fell  a  victim  of  the  climate.  There  are 
67  converts,  630  children  in  Sunday-schools,  211  in 
day  schools,  12  in  orphanages,  while  about  5,000  pa- 
tients are  treated  annually  in  the  hospitals  and  dispen- 
saries. 

One  year  later  the  Society  entered  Japan.  Gr.  T. 
Smith  and  wife  and  C.  E.  Garst  and  w^fe  were  the 
pioneers.  Work  is  carried,  on  in  Tokyo,  Shouai  and 
Akita.  There  were  inquirers  before  the  missionaries 
could  tell  them  what  to  do  to  be  saved.  Mrs.  Smith 
died  March  23,  1885.  Her  life  made  a  deep  impres- 
sion on  the  people.  The  Woman's  Board  built  a 
chapel  in  Akita  in  her  honor.  The  gospel  is  preached 
in  the  chapels,  on  the  streets,  and  wherever  there  is 
an  opening.  The  missionaries  make  tours  through  the 
empire  and  preach  as  they  go.  They  take  orphans 
and  feed  and  clothe  and  train  them  for  service  in  the 
kingdom.  A  monthly  magazine  is  published  in 
Tokyo.  A  Bible  school  has  recently  been  opened  in 
which  preachers,  teachers  and  Bible  readers  will  be 
prepared  for  their  work.  There  are  nine  missiona- 
ries and  sixteen  helpers;  there  are  267  members;  561 
children  in  the  Sunday-schools,  and  368  in  eight  day 
schools. 

Dr.  W.  E.  Macklin  arrived  in  China  January  29, 
1886.     He  began  work  in  Nankin,  and  called  for  rein- 


MISSIOXARY   CHILDREN. 
Morton  D.  Adams,  Jr.,  India.    Edward  akd  Loos  Williams,  China.    Ruth  Meigs,  China. 


MISSIONS  AMONG  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST.      245 

forcemeuts.  That  year  E.  P.  Hearnden  and  A.  F.  H. 
Saw  went  out  from  England.  The  next  year  F.  E. 
Meigs,  and  E.  T.  Williams  and  their  families  joined 
the  mission.  There  are  now  twenty-one  workers  and 
twentj'-five  native  helpers  in  China.  They  conduct 
work  at  five  stations  and  four  out-stations,  sustain  ten 
day-schools  and  two  boarding-schools,  maintain  a  hos- 
pital and  two  dispensaries  in  which  10,000  patients  are 
treated  annually,  and  have  gathered  small  groups  of 
believers  at  five  of  the  stations.  There  are  five  native 
preachers  and  other  helpers  who  have  proved  their 
sincerity  by  enduring  persecution.  In  addition  to  Nan- 
kin there  are  stations  in  Shanghai,  Tsungming,  Wuhu, 
Luhoh,  and  Chu  Cheo.  At  one  other  point  a  "hot- 
hearted  "  Christian  woman,  though  poor,  proposed  to 
build  a  chapel.  Her  neighbors  assisted  her,  and  now 
the  gospel  is  preached  there  every  day  by  a  native 
evangelist.  The  work  is  not  confined  to  the  stations 
and  out-stations.  The  workers  go  far  into  the  interior 
and  preach  in  large  cities  which  never  heard  the  gos- 
pel before  or  saw  a  representative  from  Christendom. 
Like  the  other  missions,  China  has  had  its  martyr. 
Mrs.  Carrie  Loos  Williams  gave  her  life  that  the  people 
of  China  might  have  life  and  have  it  more  abundantly. 
There  are  now  ninet.y-six  converts,  one  hundred  chil- 
dren in  the  Sunday-school,  and  one  hundred  and  nine 
in  the  day  schools.  Four  homes,  a  hospital,  and  a 
school  and  chapel  have  been  erected. 

The  missionaries  and  helpers  number  one  hundred 
and  thirt3'-two.  Three  have  fallen,  and  one  was 
obliged  to  return  homo.  The  Lord  has  dealt  gra- 
ciously with  his  servants  who  have  devoted  their  lives 
to  his  cause  in  the  regions  beyond.  The  receipts  for 
the  past  year  amount  to  $73,258.16.  The  receii)ts  from 
the  first  amount  to  $725,330.77.  The  Society  pub- 
lishes two  papers,  The  Missionuru  Inielligencer^  and 


246  MISSIONARY    ADDRESSES. 

Tlie  Missionary  Voice.  The  work  has  had  its  hours  of 
triumph  and  of  joy,  but  it  has  not  been  without  its 
difficulties  and  perplexities.  The  managers  have  not 
always  been  able  to  accomplish  what  they  desired. 
They  have  had  their  disappointments  and  heart-aches. 
But  looking  back  over  the  way  there  is  much  more  to 
rejoice  in  and  to  be  grateful  for  than  there  is  to 
regret.  Year  by  year  has  witnessed  substantial  gains. 
That  is  the  grand  fact  which  cannot  be  denied. 

' '  '  Tis  weary  watching  day  by  day , 
And  yet  the  tide  heaves  onward ; 
We  build,  like  corals,  grave  by  grave, 
And  pave  a  path  that's  sunward. 

We're  beaten  back  in  many  a  fray. 

Yet  newer  strength  we  borrow  ; 
And  where  the  vanguard  camps  to-day. 

The  rear  will  camp  to-morrow. ' ' 

The  work  in  the  foreign  field  has  helped  the  work 
at  home.  The  j^ear  the  Foreign  Society  was  organ- 
ized, the  receipts  for  home  missions  amounted  to  only 
$5,000.  That  was  the  paltry  sum  raised  by  600,000 
people  for  this  most  worthy  cause.  The  work  was  on 
the  point  of  extinction ;  the  dying  flame  flickered  in 
the  socket.  Since  then  the  receipts  for  home  mis- 
sions have  increased  sixteen  fold.  As  our  thoughts 
went  out  to  India,  to  Japan,  to  China,  to  Turkey,  to 
Africa,  the  .work  at  home  felt  a  new  impulse.  As 
missionary  after  missionary  sailed  to  heathen  lands, 
new  life  was  infused  into  every  department  of  the 
work  in  our  own  land,  and  now  this  work  has  a  mag- 
nitude and  moral  grandeur  that  it  never  could  have 
had  if  we  took  no  part  in  the  evangelization  of  the 
world.  There  is  that  giveth  and  yet  increaseth,  and 
there  is  that  withholdeth  more  than  is  meet,  and  it 
tendeth  to  poverty.  The  work  abroad  strengthens 
the  work  at  home,  and  the  work  at  home  being 
strengthened   the   work   abroad   flourishes.     Each   is 


MISSIONS  AMONG  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST .      247 

stronger  because  of  the  existence  and  prosperity  of 
the  other  than  either  couhl  he  if  it  existed  alone.  As 
the  churches  have  given  more  they  have  grown  in 
grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  the  truth.  Speaking 
of  the  subject  of  missions,  Isaac  Errett  said  he  was 
satisfied  from  his  own  experience  that  it  is  one  of  the 
most  animating  and  potent  that  can  be  employed  to 
awake  our  brotherhood  to  nobler  spiritual  life.  "  It 
brings  us  directly  into  fellowship  with  Christ."  We 
have  drunk  more  deeply  into  his  Spirit,  and  have 
apprehended  more  firmly  that  for  which  we  had  been 
apprehended  by  Him.  Thousands  have  been  saved 
from  vain  jangling  about  words  and  about  questions 
of  no  consequence  bj^  their  efforts  to  evangelize  the 
world.  The  missionary  spirit  is,  as  has  been  said,  the 
test  of  a  standing  or  of  a  falling  church. 

The  gain  in  the  receipts  from  the  first  shows  how 
the  work  has  grown  in  the  confidence  of  the  churches. 
In  1850  the  General  Christian  Missionary  Convention 
received  $2,486.79;  in  1894  it  received  $88,595.01.     In 

1875  the  Woman's  Board  received  $1,200.35;  in  1894 
it  received  $59,277.01.  In  1876  the  Foreign  Society 
received  $1,706.35;  in  1894  it  received  $73,258.16.     In 

1876  twenty  churches  contributed;  in  1894  there  were 
1,806.  It  was  not  until  1881  that  the  Sunday-schools 
were  asked  for  anything;  last  year  they  gave  $23,- 
486.05.  In  1858  the  receipts  for  all  mission  purposes 
did  not  exceed  $20,000;  in  1894  they  exceeded  $770,- 
000.  The  growth  in  the  receipts  of  several  of  the 
State  Societies  has  been  marked  and  most  cheering. 
It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  while  the  increase 
has  been  rapid  in  the  last  score  of  years,  it  does  not 
begin  to  keep  pace  with  the  needs.  If  the  men  sent 
had  each  a  thousand  tongues,  and  every  tongue  a 
trumpet,  they  could  not  evangelize  the  multitudes 
that  arc  in  need  of  the  gospel. 


248  MISSIONARY    ADDRESSES. 

The  Lord  has  dealt  bountifully  with  us.  His  good 
hand  has  been  upon  us  for  good  all  through  our  his- 
tory. He  has  prospered  our  undertakings.  The 
measure  of  success  that  has  rewarded  our  labors 
sliould  stimuhxte  us  to  devise  liberal  things  for  the 
time  to  come.  We  must  not  be  satisfied  with  what 
we  have  done.  We  must  do  better  in  the  future,  and 
better  thence  again,  and  better,  still,  in  infinite  pro- 
gression. We  have  put  our  hand  to  the  plow,  and 
must  not  look  back.  We  have  crossed  the  Rubicon, 
and  cannot  retreat.  We  must  advance  like  a  ban- 
nered army  till  the  last  stronghold  of  paganism  and 
sin  is  dismantled,  and  until  Jesus  Christ  is  recognized 
as  Lord  of  all.  We  must  carry  on  the  work  which  he 
began,  until  the  songs  of  the  redeemed  are  heard 
round  the  world,  like  England's  drumbeat,  keeping 
time  with  the  hours.  May  God  help  us  to  do  our  part 
Avorthily,  that  when  the  nations  of  the  saved  come  up 
from  every  continent  and  from  every  island  of  the 
sea,  chanting  the  thunder-psalm  of  victory,  we  may 
join  with  them  in  saying: 

'  'Come,  then,  and,  added  to  thy  many  crowns, 
Receive  yet  one ,  as  radiant  as  the  rest , 
Due  to  thy  last  and  most  effectual  work , 
Thy  word  fulfilled,  the  conquest  of  a  world.  ' ' 


MEDICAL  MISSIONARIES. 


1.    Dr.  W.  E.  Macklin,  Nankin,  China. 


2.    Dr.  Nina  A.  Stevens,  Tokyo,  Japan. 


1.    Lm.  vv.i.... x^.--->y-|--Y,ErBuTC.?ART,  Nankin,  C^^^^^^  „      ,     ^^_.. 

4.    Dr.  Emma  Durand.  Hurda,  India.  5.    Dr.  C.  S.  Dueand,  Hurda,  India. 


XIII. 
MEDICAL  MISSIONS. 

The  leaves  of  the  tree  were  for  the  healing  of  the  nations.— iJew.  xxii.  2. 

Christianity  has  to  do  with  the  body  and  with  the 
soul.  Our  Lord  is  spoken  of  as  the  head  of  the 
church,  and  as  the  Savior  of  the  body.  Paul  calls 
the  body  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  No  other 
faith  cares  for  the  body  in  the  same  degree.  The  tree 
whose  leaves  are  for  the  healing  of  the  nations  grows 
beside  the  river  of  the  water  of  life.  The  subject  for 
the  hour  is  Medical  Missions.     Let  us  consider — 

/.  The  authority  for  this  form  of  Christian  work. 
We  have  the  example  of  our  Lord.  Two-thirds  of 
his  miracles  were  miracles  of  healing.  He  went  about 
doing  good,  and  healing  all  that  were  oppressed  of 
the  devil.  Matthew  tells  us  that  he  went  about  in  all 
Galilee,  teaching  in  their  synagogues,  and  preaching 
the  gospel  of  the  kingdom,  and  healing  all  manner  of 
disease  among  the  people.  The  report  of  him 
reached  Syria,  and  they  brought  unto  him  all  that 
were  sick,  holden  with  divers  diseases  and  torments, 
possessed  with  demons,  and  epileptic,  and  palsied, 
and  he  healed  them.  Preaching  and  healing  went 
together.  When  he  came  down  from  the  mountain, 
a  leper  came  to  him  and  said,  "Lord,  if  thou  wilt, 
thou  canst  make  me  clean."  Jesus  touched  him,  say- 
ing, "I  will;  be  thou  clean."  Instantly  his  leprosy 
was  cleansed.  Soon  after  he  healed  Peter's  wife's 
mother.     That  evening  the  people  brought  unto  him 

( 349 ) 


250  MISSIONARY    ADDRESSES. 

many  possessed  with  demons,  aad  he  cast  out  the 
spirits  with  a  word,  and  healed  all  that  were  sick, 
thus  fulfilling  the  prophecy,  "Himself  took  our  in- 
firmities, and  bare  our  diseases."  In  Matthew's  ac- 
count of  his  next  circuit  it  is  said  that  Jesus  went 
about  all  the  cities  and  the  villages,  teaching  in  their 
synagogues,  and  preaching  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom, 
and  healing  all  manner  of  disease  and  all  manner  of 
sickness.  After  the  death  of  John  our  Lord  with- 
drew to  a  desert  place  apart.  When  the  multitudes 
heard  thereof,  they  followed  him  on  foot  from  the 
cities.  When  he  saw  them  he  had  compassion,  and 
healed  their  sick.  When  he  crossed  the  lake  and 
came  to  Gennesaret,  the  men  of  the  place  knew  him, 
and  sent  into  all  that  region  round  about,  and  brought 
unto  him  all  that  were  sick,  and  they  besought  him 
that  they  might  only  touch  the  border  of  his  garment: 
and  as  many  as  touched  were  made  whole.  He  went 
up  into  a  mojiintain  and  sat  there.  The  multitudes 
came  to  him,  having  with  them  the  lame,  blind, 
dumb,  maimed,  and  many  others;  and  they  cast  them 
down  at  his  feet,  and  he  healed  them.  On  another 
occasion,  a  great  multitude  of  his  disciples,  and  a 
great  number  of  people  from  all  Judea  and  Jerusa- 
lem, and  the  seacoast  of  Tyre  and  Sidon,  came  to 
hear  him,  and  to  be  healed  of  their  diseases;  and  they 
that  were  troubled  with  unclean  spirits  were  healed. 
And  all  the  multitude  sought  to  touch  him:  for  power 
came  forth  from  him,  and  healed  them  all.  As  he 
came  down  from  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration  he 
met  a  man  who  said,  "Lord,  have  mercy  on  my  son, 
for  he  is  epileptic,  and  suffereth  grievously:  for  oft- 
times  he  falleth  into  the  fire,  and  ofttimes  into  the 
water."  Jesus  rebuked  the  demon  and  he  went  out: 
and  the  boy  was  cured  from  that  hour.  Afterwards 
we  read  that  he  left  Galilee,  and  came  into  the  bor- 


MEDICAL  MISSIONS.  251 

ders  of  Judea  beyond  Jordan,  and  groat  multitudes 
followed  him,  and  he  healed  them  there.  When  he 
made  his  triumphal  entry  into  Jerusalem,  the  blind 
and  the  lame  came  to  him  in  the  temple,  and  he 
healed  the^n.  In  addition  to  those  already  mentioned 
we  are  told  that  he  healed  the  son  of  a  nobleman, 
and  the  servant  of  a  centurion,  and  the  sick  man  at 
the  pool  of  Bethesda,  and  the  daughter  of  the  Syro- 
phcenician  woman;  he  cast  out  a  duml)  and  deaf 
spirit ;  he  released  the  woman  whom  Satan  had  bound 
for  eighteen  years;  he  cleansed  ten  lepers;  opened 
the  eyes  of  Bartimteus,  and  of  others  who  had  been 
born  blind,  and  touched  and  healed  the  ear  of  the 
high  priest's  servant.  The  evangelists  emphasize  two 
things  in  his  ministry — his  preaching  and  his  miracles 
of  healing. 

When  he  sent  out  the  Twelve  he  said  to  them:  "As 
ye  go,  preach,  saying,  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at 
hand.  Heal  the  sick,  raise  the  dead,  cleanse  the 
lepers,  cast  out  demons:  freely  ye  received,  freely 
give."  Before  this  he  gave  them  authority  over  un- 
clean spirits,  to  cast  them  out,  and  to  heal  all  manner 
of  disease,  and  all  manner  of  sickness.  He  was 
moved  with  compassion  when  he  saw  the  multitudes, 
because  they  were  distressed  and  scattered,  as  sheep 
not  having  a  shepherd.  He  gave  the  Seventy  a  simi- 
lar charge.  He  told  them  to  heal  the  sick  in  any  city 
which  they  entered,  and  to  say  to  the  people.  The 
kingdom  of  God  is  come  nigh  unto  you.  On  their 
return  they  said,  "Lord,  even  the  demons  are  sub- 
ject unto  us  in  thy  name."  After  the  Spirit  was 
given  on  Pentecost  the  apostles  continued  the  Avork 
of  healing.  To  the  lame  man  at  the  door  of  the  tem- 
ple, Peter  said,  "In  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  of 
Nazareth,  walk."  Leaping  up,  he  stood,  and  began 
to   walk.     He   entered   with   thoin   into   the  temple. 


353  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

walking  and  leaping  and  praising  God.  Soon  after 
this  they  carried  the  sick  into  the  streets,  and  laid 
them  on  beds  and  couches,  that,  as  Peter  came  by,  at 
the  least  his  shadow  might  overshadow  some  one  of 
them.  The  people  in  the  cities  round  about  Jerusa- 
lem brought  their  sick  folk,  and  them  that  were 
vexed  with  unclean  spirits:  and  they  were  healed 
every  one.  In  Samaria  Philip  preached  and  wrought 
miracles.  For  from  many  of  those  who  had  unclean 
spirits,  they  came  out,  crying  with  a  loud  voice:  and 
many  that  were  palsied  and  that  were  lame  were 
healed.  At  Lystra  there  was  a  man  who  had  been  a 
cripple  from  his  birth.  Paul  said  to  him,  "Stand 
upright  on  thy  feet."  He  leaped  up  and  walked. 
"While  he  was  in  Ephesus  God  wrought  special  mira- 
cles by  the  hands  of  Paul ;  insomuch  that  unto  the 
sick  were  carried  away  from  his  body  handkerchiefs 
or  aprons,  and  the  diseases  departed  from  them,  and 
the  evil  spirits  went  out.  The  chief  man  on  the 
island  of  Melita  was  sick.  Paul  prayed  and  laid  his 
hands  on  him  and  healed  him.  When  this  was  done, 
the  rest  also  which  had  diseases  in  the  island  came, 
and  were  cured. 

These  miracles  of  healing  revealed  the  spirit  of  the 
gospel.  Moses  phigued  the  Egyptians;  Elijah  called 
down  fire  and  consumed  those  who  sought  his  aid; 
Christ  came  not  to  destroy  men's  lives,  but  to  save 
their  lives.  He  came  to  heal,  to  comfort,  and  to 
bless.  The  report  of  these  cures  was  carried  in  all 
directions.  Multitudes  flocked  to  see  and  hear,  as 
they  would  not  have  done  to  hear  one  who  wrought 
no  miracle.  The  supernatural  cures  secured  a  more 
favorable  reception  for  the  message  of  grace  and 
truth.  Sometimes  our  Lord  charged  those  that  were 
healed  to  say  nothing  about  it.  He  said  to  the  two 
blind  men  whose  eyes  he  openo  1,  "  See  that  no  man 


MEDICAL  MISSIONS.  253 

know  it."  He  strictly  charged  them  to  this  effect. 
On  one  occasion  he  healed  the  people  that  followed 
hitn,  and  charged  them  that  they  should  not  make 
him  known.  The  prophet  had  said  of  him,  "  He  shall 
not  strive,  nor  cry  aloud;  neither  shall  anyone  hear 
his  voice  in  the  streets."  When  he  healed  another, 
he  sent  him  away  to  his  home,  saying,  '"Do  not  even 
enter  into  the  village."  There  was  danger  of  undue 
excitement.  There  was  danger,  too,  that  the  people 
might  think  that  the  healing  of  the  body  was  the 
chief  thing  in  the  gospel.  These  miracles  revealed 
not  only  his  benevolent  and  compassionate  spirit,  but 
his  Deity.  John's  disciples  asked  him,  "Art  thou  he 
that  Cometh,  or  look  we  for  another?"  He  said: 
"Go  your  way  and  tell  John  the  things  which  ye  do 
hear  and  see:  the  blind  receive  their  sight,  and  the 
lame  walk,  the  lepers  are  cleansed,  and  the  deaf  hear, 
and  the  dead  are  raised  up,  and  the  poor  have  good 
tidings  preached  to  them."  This  answer  was  more 
conclusive  than  if  he  had  positively  affirmed  that  he 
was  the  Messiah.  These  mighty  works  amounted  to  a 
demonstration.  He  healed  a  man  sick  of  the  palsy  to 
convince  his  critics  that  he  had  power  on  earth  to 
forgive  sins.  We  read  that  the  multitude  wondered 
when  they  saw  the  dumb  speaking,  the  maimed  whole, 
and  the  lame  walking,  and  the  blind  seeing:  and  they 
glorified  the  God  of  Israel. 

Christ  has  left  us  an  example  in  this  as  in  other 
things.  We  find  our  authority  for  Medical  Missions 
in  his  practice  and  in  his  precepts.  We  do  not  have 
the  miraculous  gift  of  healing,  but  we  have  medical 
science,  which  is  a  gift  from  the  Father  of  lights. 
The  golden  rule  requires  us  to  use  this  supernal  gift. 
If  we  see  those  who  are  in  need,  and  shut  up  our  com- 
passion from  them,  how  doth  the  love  of  God  abide 
in  us? 


254  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

//.  The  utility  of  Medical  Missions.  The  medical 
missionary  gains  a  ready  access  to  the  hearts  and 
homes  of  the  people,  where  an  evangelist  would  be 
kepi  out  or  be  despised.  He  can  conquer  prejudice 
and  superstition  and  distrust  and  ignorance.  It  was 
said  of  Dr.  Peter  Parker  that  he  opened  China  at  the 
point  of  his  lancet.  Before  China  was  open  to  the 
gospel  he  established  a  hospital  in  Canton.  It  was  no 
uncommon  thing  to  see  a  thousand  patients  waiting 
their  turn  for  treatment.  It  was  on  account  of  his 
medical  skill  that  Dr.  Happer,  his  successor,  was 
allowed  to  remain  in  that  city.  Li  Hung  Chang 
could  not  believe  that  anyone  Avould  go  to  China  from 
disinterested  motives.  When  his  wife  was  sick  unto 
death  he  was  persuaded  to  send  for  Drs.  McKenzie 
and  Irwin  and  for  Miss  Dr.  Howard.  Their  treat- 
ment proved  successful.  Li  Hung  fitted  up  a  dis- 
pensary in  a  temple  and  furnished  the  medicines. 
The  Chinese  built  a  hospital  at  a  cost  of  $7,500,  and 
the  work  is  carried  on  yet.  Lady  Li  built  a  hospital 
for  women  and  children  and  placed  it  in  charge  of  Dr. 
Howard.  In  both  hospitals  the  gospel  is  preached 
every  day  to  the  patients.  Dr.  Macklin  states  that 
when  he  began  his  work  in  Nankin  some  of  the  peo- 
ple were  disposed  to  drive  him  out.  Gradually  their 
prejudices  gave  place  to  confidence  and  esteem. 
When  the  hospital  was  built  several  hundred  leading 
men  of  the  city  came  to  the  dedication.  They  hung 
up  scrolls  and  banners,  and  made  congratulatory 
speeches,  and  subscribed  a  handsome  sum  to  help 
carry  on  the  work.  In  Corea  Dr.  H.  N.  Allen  saved 
the  life  of  the  nephew  of  the  King.  Because  of  this 
and  his  other  cures  he  was  held  in  the  highest  regard. 
During  an  outbreak  in  which  Europeans  and  Ameri- 
cans fled,  he  remained.  The  soldiers  of  the  king  sur- 
rounded him  and  his  house  and  protected  him  when 


MEDICAL   MISSIONS.  255 

visiting  his  patients.  The  prince  whose  life  he  saved 
said,  "  Our  people  cannot  believe  that  jou  came  from 
America;  they  insist  that  you  must  have  dropped 
from  heaven  for  this  special  crisis."  People  came 
hundreds  of  miles  in  Persia  to  be  healed  by  Dr.  Grant. 
Princes  of  the  royal  family,  governors  of  provinces, 
and  many  of  the  Persian  nobility  were  among  his 
patients.  He  said,  "As  I  have  witnessed  the  relief  of 
hithe«rto  hopeless  suffering,  and  seen  their  grateful 
attempts  to  kiss  my  feet,  and  my  very  shoes  at  the 
door,  both  of  which  they  would  literally  bathe  in 
tears — especially  as  I  have  seen  the  haughty  Moolah 
stoop  to  kiss  the  despised  Christian,  thanking  God 
that  I  could  not  refuse  medicine  to  a  Moslem,  and 
others  saying  that  in  every  prayer  they  thanked  God 
for  my  coming,  I  have  felt  that,  even  before  I  could 
teach  our  religion,  I  was  doing  something  to  recom- 
mend it  and  break  down  prejudices,  and  wished  that 
more  of  my  professional  brethren  might  share  the 
luxury  of  doing  such  worlv  for  Christ."  Dr.  Grant 
had  twenty  times  as  much  influence  with  the  Moham- 
medans as  the  men  who  were  sent  out  expressly  to 
preach  to  them.  Multitudes  flocked  about  him  that 
would  not  deign  to  approach  and  listen  to  a  mission- 
ary. Dr.  Cochran  of  Oroomiah,  writing  of  his  work, 
said,  "  The  sick  come  in  large  numbers  every  day. 
They  flock  in  by  sunrise;  some  on  foot,  others  on 
horses,  donkeys,  oxen,  or  litters,  and  some  on  backs 
of  friends.  The  people  often  throw  the  sick  at  our 
feet  saying,  '  We  will  not  take  them  away  until  you 
care  for  them  or  let  them  die.'"  A  Koordish  chief 
threatened  the  life  of  the  "Christian  dog."  While 
breathing  out  hate  a  cataract  blinded  his  e3^es,  and  he 
came  to  the  hospital  for  help.  His  sight  was  restored ; 
his  hate  vanished;  and  he  was  willing  to  learn  of 
Christ.     Two    men    sought    to   enter  Cashmere   and 


256  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

preach.  They  took  six  native  preachers  with  them. 
The  people  did  not  want  them  and  drove  them  out  of 
the  valley.  A  physician  was  sent  and  soon  the  door 
was  opened  for  the  gospel.  In  the  dispensary  in 
Travancore,  Brahman,  Sudra,  Shanar,  Pariah,  Devil- 
worshiper  and  Moslem  sit  all  on  the  same  seat.  Men 
and  women  and  children  of  all  castes  and  creeds  come 
for  treatment.  The  fame  of  the  medical  work  fills 
the  land.  People  come  from  far  and  near.  Enmity 
and  indifference  are  giving  way.  The  King  of 
Urambo  sent  for  Dr.  Southon  to  remove  a  tumor 
from  his  arm.  The  Doctor  came  and  did  as  requested. 
The  King  begged  him  to  remain  and  promised  to  build 
him  a  house  and  a  hospital  and  to  give  him  as  much 
land  as  he  needed.  "The  countrj'  is  yours;  choose 
where  you  will;  it  is  all  yours."  At  the  London 
Conference,  Dr.  Post,  of  Syria,  gave  pictures  of 
some  patients  around  a  Christmas  tree.  One  vener- 
able man  was  a  Mohammedan,  a  lineal  descendant  of 
Saladin.  He  comes  in,  seizes  the  Doctor's  hand,  cov- 
ers it  with  kisses,  and  bows  to  his  feet.  A  month 
before  if  the  Doctor  had  gone  to  his  house,  he  would 
have  driven  him  away  as  a  Christian  dog.  That  dog 
gave  him  the  use  of  his  eyes.  He  came  blind,  and 
now  sees.  Another  is  from  Hebron.  He  is  a  de- 
scendant of  Mohammed.  He  is  guardian  of  the  bones 
of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  Sarah,  Rebecca, 
and  Leah.  What  is  he  doing  in  a  missionary  hospital? 
He,  too,  was  blind.  The  man  that  he  once  would 
have  spit  on  gave  him  his  sight.  Now  there  is  noth- 
ing he  will  not  do  for  him.  Patients  are  there  from 
Jerusalem,  from  Bagdad,  from  the  Great  Sahara, 
from  Turkestan,  from  the  head  waters  of  the  Tigris 
and  Euphrates,  from  the  villages  in  Lebanon,  from 
Palestine,  from  Cyprus,  and  from  Asia  Minor.  They 
are  there  and  all  hear  the  gospel,  and  all  join  in  the 


MEDICAL  MISSIONS.  357 

songs  about  Jesus.  They  listen  attentively  while  the 
good  Doctor  tells  them  of  the  Christ,  the  great 
Healer.  Wherever  medical  missionaries  go  they  break 
down  prejudice  and  win  the  confidence  of  the  people. 
They  come  to  be  regarded  as  just  and  true  men,  doing 
good  to  all,  and  only  good.  The  people  of  one  place 
spoke  of  the  medical  missionary  on  his  arrival  as  a 
"foreign  devil;  "  after  a  little  they  spoke  of  him  as 
"the  angelic  healer  from  across  the  seas."  Mr.  Henry, 
of  Canton,  says  that  the  medical  work  relieves  suffer- 
ing, removes  prejudice,  conciliates  hostility,  enkindles 
friendliness,  and  prepares  the  way  for  the  greater 
blessings  of  moral  and  spiritual  good.  In  the  begin- 
ning of  a  work  a  doctor  counts  for  more  than  an  evan- 
gelist. People  dismiss  the  preacher  with  the  words, 
"Oh!  he  is  a  great  man,  too;  but  he  is  only  a 
preacher."  Moffat  spoke  of  a  medical  man  as  a 
missionary  and  a  half,  as  a  double  man.  Livingstone 
never  could  have  done  what  he  did  had  he  not  been  a 
physician. 

As  in  Christ's  ministry,  so  now  the  gospel  is  preach- 
ed while  the  sick  are  healed.  The  preaching  is 
the  main  thing.  The  medical  man  is  a  philanthro- 
pist in  the  truest  and  highest  sense.  In  the  hospitals 
the  gospel  is  read  and  expounded;  hymns  are  sung  and 
prayers  are  offered.  Many  are  led  to  Christ  while  in 
the  hospitals.  They  go  home  and  tell  the  others  what 
they  have  heard.  The  hospital  thus  becomes  a  radiat- 
ing center.  The  gospel  is  carried  by  the  patients  into 
hundreds  of  villages  that  the  medical  man  never  saw. 
In  the  great  hospital  of  Canton  twenty  thousand  per- 
sons are  treated  annually.  Every  one  hears  the  gos- 
pel. Dr.  Kerr  has  treated  a  million  patients.  These 
come  from  all  parts  of  the  Empire.  Thousands  of 
these  will  tell  their  friends  and  kindred  some  of  the 
17 


258  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

things  which  they  heard.  More  than  a  thousand 
towns  and  villages  are  yearly  represented  in  the  hos- 
pital in  Ainoy.  As  the  result  of  the  cure  of  one  man 
seven  churches  have  been  founded.  Ten  thousand 
patients  are  treated  annually  in  Nankin.  Some  of 
these  come  from  places  hundreds  of  miles  distant. 
Eighty  of  the  patients  in  Swatow  in  one  year  con- 
fessed their  faith  in  Christ.  A  Chinese  farmer 
brought  his  two  daughters  to  a  hospital.  They  were 
suffering  from  cataract.  Both  were  cured.  While  in 
the  hospital  they  were  instructed  in  the  gospel,  and 
after  awhile  they  were  baptized.  Three  months  later 
they  appeared  again  with  a  number  of  sick  neighbors. 
They  brought  their  mother,  who  had  been  blind  for 
twenty  years.  Her  eyes  were  opened.  She  and  her 
husband  were  led  to  Christ.  So  the  work  goes  on. 
In  one  hospital  one  hundred  and  forty  patients  gave 
their  names  as  candidates  for  church  membership. 
The  converts  become  evangelists,  and  go  home  and 
tell  what  great  things  the  Lord  has  done  for  them. 
So  the  gospel  extends  in  ever-widening  circles.  Dr. 
Christie,  of  Mookden,  says,  "  Patients  come  to  us  from 
all  parts  of  the  province;  many  not  only  learn  the 
message  of  salvation  for  themselves,  but  carry  it  to 
the  remote  villages  and  hamlets."  He  tells  of  one 
church  gathered  by  a  man  almost  totally  blind,  who 
had  heard  of  Christ  in  the  hospital  and  went  home 
with  his  heart  on  fire.  In  Travancore  from  sixty  to 
a  hundred  patients  and  their  friends  assemble  daily  in 
the  waiting-room  to  hear  the  gospel.  People  of  all 
creeds  and  castes  listen  attentively.  The  story  is  told 
by  patients  after  their  return.  Cities  were  open  to 
hear  the  truth  when  the  Doctor  came.  It  is  said  that 
the  fame  of  the  Cashmere  hospital  has  reached 
remote  valleys  and  crossed  snowy  mountain  passes. 
Patients  come  from  afar.     The  Afghan,  the  Sikh,  and 


MEDICAL  MISSIONS.  359 

the  Cashmerian;  the  blind,  the  palsied,  the  leprous, 
are  among  the  number.  Seven  or  eight  languages  are 
spoken  by  them.  In  one  hospital  in  Calcutta  a  quar- 
ter of  a  million  of  patients  are  treated  every  year. 
Dr.  Lowe  gives  this  instance:  A  man  of  much  influ- 
ence had  rheumatism.  A  medical  missionary  visited 
and  cured  him.  Some  time  after  he  sent  for  the  Doc- 
tor to  receive  his  devil  ornaments,  clothes  and  clubs, 
and  to  demolish  a  devil-temple  on  his  property.  A 
few  months  after  the  whole  family  were  baptized. 
Through  the  influence  of  that  man  many  of  the  vil- 
lagers had  been  led  to  forsake  their  heathen  worship. 
Dr.  Durand  of  India  reports  a  number  of  conversions 
among  his  patients.  The  testimony  of  those  compe- 
tent to  decide  is  that  the  medical  work  is  a  most 
efiicient  evangelistic  agency. 

///.  The  need  of  Medical  Missions.  The  non- 
Christian  nations  know  almost  nothing  of  the  body, 
or  of  diseases,  or  of  medicine.  Chinese  physicians 
are  ignorant  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood.  They 
are  not  able  to  lance  an  abscess,  or  remove  a  tumor, 
or  reduce  fractures.  The  books  say  that  the  body  is 
composed  of  the  following  elements,  fire,  earth,  iron, 
water  and  wood.  While  equilibrium  is  'maintained, 
there  is  health;  when  one  element  predominates, 
there  is  sickness.  In  Siam  the  body  is  said  to  be  com- 
posed of  twenty  kinds  of  earth,  twelve  kinds  of 
water,  six  kinds  of  wind,  and  four  kinds  of  fire. 
Disease  is  caused  by  any  disarrangement  of  the  ele- 
ments. Too  much  fire  causes  fever.  Too  much 
water  causes  dropsy.  Too  much  wind  causes  all  kinds 
of  complaints.  Diseases  are  ascribed  to  the  spirits 
or  to  the  anger  of  the  gods.  Mrs.  Bishop  says  that 
in  the  East  a  sick  person  is  an  object  of  loathing  and 
terror.  He  is  taken  to  an  outhouse,  is  poorly  fed  and 
rarely  visited.       The    medicine-men  beat    him   with 


260  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

clubs  to  drive  out  the  demon,  or  they  lay  him  before 
a  roasting  fire  till  his  skin  is  blistered,  and  then  throw 
him  into  cold  water.  They  resort  to  charms  and  idol- 
atrous rites,  they  beat  gongs,  blow  horns,  and  explode 
fire-crackers.  Prescriptions  are  Avritten  and  pasted 
on  the  wall  of  the  sick  room,  or  are  burned,  and  the 
patient  drinks  the  water  with  which  the  ashes  have 
been  mixed.  The  natives  of  Siam  use  everything  in 
medicine.  If  the  treatment  fails,  it  is  because  of  a 
lack  of  merit  in  the  patient  or  in  the  physician. 
They  use  skins  of  various  animals,  galls  of  snakes, 
tigers,  lizards.  For  snake  bite  the  remedy  is:  "A 
portion  of  the  jaw  of  a  wild  hog,  a  portion  of  the 
jaw  of  a  tame  hog,  a  portion  of  the  jaw  of  a  goat,  a 
portion  of  a  goose-bone,  a  portion  of  a  peacock-bone, 
a  portion  of  the  tail  of  a  fish,  and  a  portion  of  the 
head  of  a  venomous  snake."  That  is  supposed  to  be 
a  cure  for  lockjaw.  Dr.  Allen  found  thirteen  native 
doctors  trying  to  staunch  the  prince's  wounds  by  fill- 
ing them  with  wax.  In  Burmah  roasted  crow  was  pre- 
scribed for  a  child  suffering  from  dyspepsia.  The 
hand  of  a  daughter  cut  off  and  stewed  is  prescribed 
for  a  dying  parent.  In  the  South  Sea  Islands  they 
cut  the  place  open  to  let  the  pain  out.  If  a  patient 
was  delirious  he  was  buried  alive.  In  China  toothache 
is  suj^posed  to  be  caused  by  maggots  gnawing  at  the 
roots  of  the  teeth.  The  dentist  probes  with  a  wood- 
en peg.  This  makes  the  patient  forget  the  real 
trouble  and  fancy  that  he  is  cured.  Dr.  Lowe  says 
that  if  a  Chinaman  wishes  to  enter  the  profession  he 
gets  a  pair  of  spectacles  with  large  bone  rims,  and 
some  grasses  and  herbs,  and  some  spiders  and  snakes, 
which  he  places  in  bottles  in  his  windows.  Here  is 
one  of  his  prescriptions:  "Powdered  snakes,  two 
parts;  wasps'  nests,  one  part ;  centipedes,  six  parts; 
scorpions,  four  parts;    toads,  twenty  parts.      Grind 


MEDICAL  MISSIONS.  261 

thoroughly,  mix  with  honey,  and  make  into  small 
pills.  To  be  taken  four  times  a  day."  If  a  patient 
is  weak  he  is  advised  to  get  tigers'  bones  and  grind 
them  to  powder,  and  eat  that.  Dr.  Macklin  tells  of 
some  of  the  remedies  used  in  Nankin.  The  native 
doctor  took  some  herbs,  and  beetles,  and  bugs,  and 
maggots,  and  made  a  decoction  of  the  same,  and  gave 
the  decoction  to  the  patient,  and  placed  the  dregs  on 
the  roadside,  hoping  that  the  passers-by  would  walk 
awa}' the  disease.  This  remedy  reminds  one  of  the 
ingredients  of  the  witches'  cauldron  in  Macbeth : 

'  'Ej^e  of  newt,  and  toe  of  frog. 
Wool  of  bat.  and  tongne  of  dog, 
Adder's  fork  and  blind  worm's  sting, 
Lizard's  leg  and  owlet's  wing. ' ' 

One  man  was  told  by  a  renowned  physician  that  the 
igneous  principle  had  got  the  upper  hand  of  the 
aqueous  principle,  and  that  he  must  live  on  cooling 
foods.  A  rival  of  equal  renown  told  him  that  the 
aqueous  principle  was  in  the  ascendency,  and  the 
igneous  principle  below  par,  and  that  he  must  avoid 
all  weakening  foods.  In  time  of  pestilence,  the  only 
remed}'  is  to  organize  a  series  of  services  to  expel  the 
evil  spirits. 

The  non-Chri.stian  nations  need  the  gospel  to  lessen 
suffering  and  to  save  life.  In  India  it  is  said  that  an 
incredible  number  of  deaths  could  be  prevented.  All 
women,  rich  and  poor,  are  neglected  in  time  of  sick- 
ness. Infectious  and  other  diseases  are  left  to  take 
their  course.  The  death  rate  among  women  and  chil- 
dren is  enormous.  In  lands  Avhere  diseases  are  sup- 
posed to  be  caused  by  demons,  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  quarantine.  It  would  be  idle  and  impious  to  fight 
against  the  gods.  These  nations  need  the  medical 
work  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  gospel.  The  present 
theory  of  disease  and  medicine  is  vitally  connected 


262  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

with  the  religions  of  these  nations.  They  stand  or 
fall  together.  If  their  medical  science  is  discredited 
and  rejected,  their  religious  systems  will  receive  a 
severe  blow.  Some  people  said  to  a  medical  mission- 
ary, "We  have  been  healed  by  your  medicine,  and 
now  we  propose  to  accept  your  God."  The  remark 
is  heard,  "It  must  be  a  good  doctrine  which  does  so 
much  for  the  suffering  humanity."  Something  has 
been  done  to  supply  this  need.  Pride  has  been  hum- 
bled, and  prejudice  has  been  broken  down.  The  na- 
tives can  not  but  see  and  acknowledge  that  the  medi- 
cal science  which  is  the  product  of  Christianity,  is  infi- 
nitely superior  to  their  science.  The  cures  wrought 
to-day  are  as  wonderful  to  the  non-Christian  peoples  as 
were  Cht-ist's  miracles  to  the  people  of  his  day,  and 
the  effects  are  similar.  The  wonders  of  modern 
surgery  are  little  less  than  supernatural  to  them. 
The  natives  think  medical  science  can  do  anything. 
People  whose  eyes  have  disappeared  request  new 
ones.  A  girl  lost  her  feet;  the  doctor  was  asked  to 
put  them  on  again.  A  father  brought  a  weak-minded 
son,  hoping  that  he  could  be  cured.  He  thought  that 
a  man  that  could  remove  tumors  and  cure  leprosy, 
could  strengthen  a  feeble  intellect.  China  has  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  medical  missionaries.  What 
are  these  among  so  many  millions?  New  York  has 
3,500  for  less  than  2,000,000  people.  India  has  less 
than  a  hundred  medical  missionaries  for  287,000,000 
people.  China  has  one  for  2,500,000  souls.  Dr.  Kerr 
trained  a  hundred  Chinamen  in  the  Canton  hospital. 
Other  physicians  have  helped  to  supply  the  need.  In 
India  the  Countess  Dufferin's  Fund  amounts  to 
$410,000,  and  by  it  103  women  physicians  are  at  work 
among  the  women  of  India,  and  nearly  200  more  are 
studying  medicine  in  India,  and  yet  others  in  England. 
The  Edinburgh  Medical  Missionarv  Societv  is  training 


MEDICAL  MISSIONS.  263 

• 

workers  for  this  field,  but  ten  are  needed  for  every 
one  who  offers  to  go  out.  England  and  Scotland 
have  23,000  physicians;  the  United  States  has  not  less 
than  80,000;  in  view  of  these  numbers  what  must  we 
think  of  the  small  number  in  the  vast  heathen  world? 
More  young  men  and  women  ought  to  qualify  them- 
selves to  serve  their  generation  in  this  way.  A  young 
medical  woman  can  go  anywhere.  She  can  go  where 
no  man  can  go,  and  do  what  no  man  can  do.  Dr. 
McKenzie  never  could  have  done  what  he  did  in 
China  without  Miss  Howard.  She  can  go  into 
the  zenanas  and  harems  and  prescribe  for  the  in- 
mates. There  is  no  kind  of  Christlike  service  to 
which  she  can  devote  her  life  more  profitably.  In  the 
judgment  day  thousands  will  rise  up  and  call  her 
blessed.  She  will  have  a  right  to  the  promise,  "They 
that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firm- 
ament; and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness  as 
the  stars  for  ever  and  ever." 


XIV. 
"THIS  GRACE  ALSO." 

But  as  ye  abound  in  everything,  in  faith,  and  utterance,  and  knowledge, 
and  in  all  earnestness,  and  in  your  love  to  us,  see  that  ye  abound  in  this  grace 
also.— /J.  Cor.  viii.  7. 

The  grace  spoken  of  in  this  passage  is  the  grace  of 
giving.  It  is  clear  that  the  Corinthians  were  deficient 
in  this  grace.  They  were  ready  to  promise,  but  not 
so  ready  to  perform.  Others  besides.the  Corinthians 
were  hicking  in  this  same  grace.  Paul  states  that  Avhen 
he  departed  from  Macedonia,  no  church  had  fellowship 
with  him  in  the  matter  of  giving  and  receiving,  save 
the  church  in  Philippi.  More  than  once  he  was  obliged 
to  work  with  his  own  hands  to  secure  the  necessaries 
of  life.  This  would  not  have  been  the  case  if  the 
churches  generally  had  abounded  in  this  as  in  other 
graces.  From  that  time  till  this,  Christian  people,  as 
a  whole,  have  been  particularly  deficient  in  the  grace 
of  giving.  Churches  find  it  difficult  to  meet  their 
current  expenses;  many  of  them  are  deeply  in  debt; 
nearly  every  good  cause  languishes.  This  is  not  be- 
cause times  are  hard  and  Christians  are  poor,  but 
solely  because  the  grace  of  giving  has  not  been  culti- 
vated. People  who  have  money  with  which  to  gratify 
appetite,  pride  and  vanity,  can  give  little  or  nothing 
to  carry  on  the  Lord's  work.  Worldliness  is  the  pre- 
vailing sin  of  the  age.     For  this  reason  the  precept  is 

timely,     "See  that  ye  abound  in  this  grace  also."     I 

(204) 


THIS  GRACE  ALSO.  365 

wish  to  cull  your  attention  to  some  of  Goffs  ThongJUs 
on   Giving. 

1.  Please  to  note  how  he  speaks  of  it  in  his  Word. 
In  the  text  it  is  classed  with  faith  and  love  and  earn- 
estness. It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  for  men  to 
apologize  when  they  ask  for  money  to  carry  on  the 
Lord's  work.  The  topic  is  a  painful  one.  The  Script- 
ures speak  of  giving  as  a  "grace."  In  the  beginning 
of  this  chapter  Paul  speaks  of  the  grace  of  God  which 
had  been  given  in  the  churches  of  Macedonia.  Be- 
cause of  this  the  abundance  of  their  joy  and  deep 
poverty  abounded  unto  the  riches  of  their  liberality. 
There  is  no  hesitation  or  apology  in  the  apostle's  voice 
when  he  speaks  of  giving:  he  feels  that  he  is  calling 
the  people  to  a  high  and  Godlike  deed,  and  the  note  is 
one  of  triumph  and  of  joy.  The  gift  sent  from  Phil- 
ippi  to  Paul  is  spoken  of  as  an  "  odor  of  sweet  smell, 
a  sacrifice  acceptable,  well-pleasing  to  God."  The 
thoughtful  kindness  of  this  church  not  only  gladdened 
the  heart  of  the  recipient  and  materially  aided  him  in 
his  work,  but  it  was  as  incense  before  God,  and  was 
acceptable  to  him.  Speaking  in  the  same  strain  else- 
where, he  says,  "  But  to  do  good  and  to  communicate 
forget  not;  for  with  such  sacrifices  God  is  well  pleas- 
ed." Again,  "Charge  them  that  are  rich  in  this  world, 
that  they  be  not  high-minded,  nor  have  their  hope  set 
on  the  uncertainty  of  riches,  but  on  God,  who  giveth 
us  richly  all  things  to  enjoy;  that  they  do  good,  that 
they  be  rich  in  good  works,  that  they  be  ready  to 
distribute,  willing  to  communicate;  laying  up  in  store 
for  themselves  a  good  foundation  against  the  time  to 
come,  that  they  may  lay  hold  on  the  life  which  is  life 
indeed."  Giving  nourishes  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul. 
Giving  benefits  the  giver  as  much  as  it  does  the  re- 
ceiver. John  says,  "But  whoso  hath  the  Avorld's 
goods,  and beholdeth  his  brother  in  need,  and  shutteth 


266  missio:nary  addresses. 

up   his  compassion    from    him,  how  doth  the  h)ve  of 
God  abide  in  him?"     It  does  not;  it  can  not. 

' '  He  is  dead  whose  hand  is  not  open  wide 
To  help  the  need  of  a  human  brother ; 
He  doubles  the  length  of  his  lifelong  ride 

Who  gives  his  fortanace  place  to  another ; 
And  a  tliousand  million  lives  are  his 
Who  carries  the  world  in  his  sympathies. 
To  give,  is  to  live.     To  deny,  is  to  die. ' ' 

Paul  follows  his  great  argument  for  tlie  resurrection 
with  the  words,  "Now  concerning  the  collection." 
These  words  follow  the  conclusion,  "Wherefore,  my 
beloved  brethren,  be  ye  steadfast,  unraovable,  always 
abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  forasmuch  as  ye 
know  that  your  labor  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord." 
There  is  no  incongruity  between  the  thought  of  the 
resurrection  in  which  death  shall  be  swallowed  up  in 
victory  and  a  collection.  Giving  is  as  sacred  as  any 
other  duty. 

God  himself  is  the  great  Giver.  "  Every  good  gift 
and  every  perfect  gift  is  from  above,  coming  down  from 
the  Father  of  lights,  with  whom  can  be  no  variation, 
neither  shadow  that  is  cast  by  turning."  "  For  God 
so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son, 
that  whosoever  believetli  on  him  should  not  perish, 
but  have  eternal  life."  "  He  that  spared  not  his  own 
Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not 
also  with  him  freely  give  us  all  things?"  God  is  love, 
and  love  delights  to  give.  God  would  cease  to  be 
God,  if  he  ceased  to  be  the  great  Giver.  Christ  gave 
himself.  Every  soul  can  repeat  the  words,  "  He  loved 
me  and  gave  himself  for  me."  "For  ye  knf)W  the 
grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that,  though  he  was 
rich,  yet  for  your  sakes  he  became  [)oor,  that  ye 
through  his  poverty  might  becomerich."  Ho  emptied 
himself,  and  took  upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant. 
John  says  of  him,    "  And  the  Word  became  flesh  and 


THIS  GRACE  ALSO.  367 

dwelt  among  us  (and  we  beheld  his  glory,  glory  as  of 
the  only  begotten  of  the  Father),  full  of  grace  and 
truth."  "  For  of  his  fulness  we  all  received,  and 
grace  for  grace."  These  passages  show  that  it  is  God- 
like and  Christlike  to  give. 

II.  N^ote  what  the  Scriptures  teach  as  to  the  measure 
of  our  giving.  The  divine  rule  is,  Jis  the  Lord  has 
prospered  us.  If  the  readiness  to  give  is  there,  it  is 
acceptable  according  as  a  man  hath,  not  according  as 
a  man  hath  not.  "  According  as  each  hath  received 
a  gift,  ministering  it  among  yourselves,  as  good  stew- 
ards of  the  manifold  grace  of  God."  Dr.  McCabe 
tells  of  a  church  of  Seventh  Day  Adventists  that  gave 
in  one  offering  $21,000  for  missions,  and  $17,000  for 
other  forms  of  benevolence,  making  $3'S,000  in  all. 
.The  congregation  numbers  1,450,  and  has  not  a  rich 
member  in  it.  Their  incomes  averaged  $260.  They  gave 
one-tenth  to  the  Lord's  cause.  If  every  congregation 
in  Christendom  gave  at  the  same  rate,  there  would  be 
money  enough,  and  too  much,  for  every  worthy  enter- 
prise. Dr.  Simpson  states  that  two  hundred  individ- 
uals support  one  missionary  each  in  connection  Avith 
the  work  he  superintends.  Some  have  had  to  sell 
their  horses  and  carriages  to  do  this.  His  wife's 
Bible  class, made  up  of  girls  who  earn  their  own  living, 
gives  $1,.500  a  year.  If  Christian  people  everywhere 
would  give  thus  generously,  there  would  be  no  lack 
of  funds.  A  young  German  went  into  a  mission  room 
and  asked  for  the  secretary.  He  said,  "  I  want  to 
pa3'  you  some  money."  When  asked  how  much  he 
said,  "Seven  fifty."  The  secretarj'  made  out  a  re- 
ceipt for  $7.50.  The  young  man  laid  down  $750.  The 
secretary  was  amazed,  and  said,  "  Can  you  afford 
this?"  He  said,  "Yes."  "  What  are  your  wages?" 
**  Twelve  dollars  a  week."  "  How  long  have  you  been 
a  Christian?"     "Four  years."     "  You  do  not  spend 


268  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

much  for  beer?"  "Never  tasted  beer."  "You  do 
not  go  to  the  theatre?"  "  No."  Suppose  every  3'oung 
man  in  the  church  would  give  as  the  Lord  hath  pros- 
pered him,. what  Avould  be  the  result?  We  would  see 
the  kingdom  advance  as  in  no  previous  age.  Biish- 
nell  says,  "  What  we  are  waiting  for,  an(i  are  longing 
hopefully  to  see,  is  the  consecration  of  the  vast  money 
power  of  the  world  to  the  work  and  cause  and  kingdom 
of  Jesus  Christ,  for  that  day,  when  it  conies,  will  be 
the  morning,  so  to  speak,  of  a  new  creation."  No  one 
will  assert  that  that  day  has  come.  There  are  those 
now,  as  in  the  apostolic  church,  of  whom  it  can  be  said 
that  to  the  extent  of  their  power,  3'ea,  and  beyond 
their  power,  they  give.  But  these  are  not  in  the 
majority.  It  has  been  said  of  a  rich  man  in  one  of 
our  churches  that  if  you  would  ask  him  for  a  hundred 
dollars  for  missions,  he  would  faint.  If  one  would  go 
to  him  and  say,  "I  have  a  piece  of  property  for  sale 
worth  $25,000,"  he  would  say  at  once,  "Let  us  go  and 
look  at  it."  The  offer  of  a  piece  of  property  does  not 
affect  him  as  does  the  request  for  an  offering  for  the 
Lord's  work.  Can  it  be  said  of  that  man  that  he 
gives  as  the  Lord  has  prospered  him?  That  man  is 
worth  a  million  dollars.  The  leading  elder  in  one  of 
our  churches,  when  asked  for  an  offering  for  world- 
wide evangelism,  flatly  refused.  A  few  weeks  later 
he  expended  $100  for  fire-crackers.  One  of  our  large 
churches  found  it  had  work  to  raise  $100  for  missions; 
that  same  church  raised  $500  in  a  few  minutes  for  a 
soloist.  Could  it  be  said  of  that  elder  and  that  church 
that  they  gave  as  the  Lord  has  prospered  them?  In 
Paris  a  blind  woman  put  twenty-seven  francs  into  the 
plate.  It  was  said,  "  You  can  not  afford  to  give  so 
nmch."  "Yes,  I  can."  On  being  pressed  for  an  ex- 
planation she  said,  "  I  am  blind.  My  fellow-workers 
spend  twenty-seven  francs  for  oil  for  their  lamps.     I 


THIS  GRACE  ALSO.  269 

do  not  need  a  lamp,  because  I  am  blind.  I  give  that 
much  to  light  those  who  sit  in  darkness."  When  the 
gospel  reached  Tahiti  the  people  wanted  to  send  it  to 
the  islands  that  were  still  in  ignorance.  The  king 
said,  "We  have  no  money,  but  we  have  pigs,  cocoa- 
nuts  and  arrowroot,  with  which  we  can  l>uy  money. 
I  propose  that  we  form  a  Society  which  we  may  call, 
'  The  Tahitian  Society  for  causing  the  Word  of  God 
to  Grow."  They  did  so.  The  first  shipment  to  Eng- 
land realized  $6,000.  They  gave  what  they  could. 
During  the  famine  in  Assam  the  Christians  had  been 
sorely  pressed  for  food,  being  obliged  to  gather  grass 
seeds  and  live  on  them,  as  there  was  no  rice.  All  this 
while  they  kept  up  their  weekly  offerings  for  carrying 
the  gospel  into  the  regions  be.yond.  When  the  famine 
al)ated  they  brought  their  money,  and  putting  it  into 
the  teacher's  hands  were  about  to  depart,  when  they 
were  asked  why  they  had  not  sent  that  money  to  Cal- 
cutta for  rice  for  their  hungry  families.  Their  reply 
was,  "  T'eacher,  do  you  think  we  could  eat  the  Lord's 
money?"  They  felt  that  the  Lord's  work  must  not  be 
neglected  even  in  a  season  of  famine.  If  all  felt  so, 
and  gave  as  these  converts  gave,  the  cause  of  Christ 
would  not  suffer  because  of  an  inadequate  support. 

Wealth  is  increasing  at  a  rapid  rate.  Christian 
people  give  more  in  the  aggregate  than  they  gave  thirty 
years  ago,  but  they  give  less  in  proportion  now  than 
they  did  then.  The  reason  is  plain;  we  spend  more 
on  appetite  and  desire.  Mrs.  Bishop  says,  "Our  style 
of  living  is  always  rising.  We  are  always  accumulat- 
ing. We  till  our  houses  with  pleasant  things.  We 
decorate  our  homes  till  further  decoration  seems  im- 
possil^le.  Our  expenditure  on  ourselves  is  enormous." 
It  is  even  so.  Heine,  the  Jew,  once  sat  silent  at  a 
sutnptuous  dinner  in  Paris,  till  the  hostess  inquired 
why  he  was  so  still.    He  said,  "  I  have  been  looking  at 


270  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

your  service  of  gold  plate,  your  jewoleJ  glais.ses,  your 
splendid  servants,  and  wondering  what  you  Christians 
are  going  to  do  with  the  camel  question."  If  we  con- 
sume all  we  earn  upon  ourselves,  how  can  we  hope  to 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God?  It  would  be  as  eas}'' 
for  a  camel  to  go  through  the  eye  of  a  needle.  Presi- 
dent Eliot  appealed  to  a  rich  man  for  some  money  for 
Harvard.  The  man  said,  "lean  give  nothing.  My 
expenses  amount  to  173,000,  and  my  income  amounts 
to  no  more."  As  riches  increase  the  scale  of  living 
rises.  Families  move  into  larger  houses  or  to  more 
fashionable  streets.  They  keep  more  servants  and 
more  horses.  They  are  no  more  comfortable  than 
before,  but  they  feel  that  they  must  have  a  due  regard 
to  style.  What  is  this  but  ministering  to  the  lust  of 
the  flesh,  the  lust  of  the  eye,  and  the  pride  of  life? 
Christian  people  can  not  do  so-,  and  give  as  the  Lord 
has  prospered  them.  If  we  propose  to  give  accord- 
ing to  the  divine  rule,  we  must  deny  ourselves.  A 
certain  Japanese  family  had  a  box  into  vrhich  they 
put  what  the}^  had  saved  from  their  expenditures. 
One  of  them  said,  "If  I  want  to  ])uy  a  garment  that 
costs  a  dollar,  I  buy  it  for  80  cents;  or  give  a  feast 
that  would  cost  $5.00,  I  give  it  for  $4.00;  or  build  a 
house  that  cost  $100,  I  build  it  for  $80,  and  put  the 
balances  into  the  box.  At  the  end  of  the  year  we 
meet,  open  the  boxes,  and  give  the  contents  to  the 
poor.  It  costs  us  some  self-denial,  but  we  are  always 
prosperous  and  happy."  They  call  this  worshiping^ 
the  great  Bright  God  of  Self-Restraint.  If  Christian, 
people  would  deny  themselves  in  this  way  they  could 
afford  to  give  more,  and  they  would  be  healthier  and 
happier.  There  are  cases  on  record  whei-e  they  have 
done  this.  They  have  sold  their  houses  and  lived  in 
less  costly  ones,  or  they  have  managed  to  get  along 
Avith  old   furniture  and  old  carpets,  that  they  might 


THIS  GRACE  ALSO.  271 

help  oil  the  Lord's  work.     What  is  needed  is  that  all 
Christians  should  do  this. 

///.  JSFote  the  manner  in  wliich  we  should  give. 
"Let  each  man  do  according  as  he  hath  purposed  in  his 
heart;  not  grudgingly  or  of  necessity ;  forGodloveth  a 
cheerful  giver."  We  should  give  from  conviction,  and 
not  from  impulse  or  caprice.  We  should  plan  what  we 
can  do  and  do  it  in  the  fear  of  God.  Some  will  give  if 
a  stirring  appeal  is  made,  or  if  they  are  coaxed  or 
tickled  or  importuned.  Giving  should  be  a  matter  of 
conscience  and  purpose.  Franklin  tells  us  that  he  went 
to  hear  Whitfield  preach  a  charity  sermon.  He  de- 
cided in  advance  that  he  would  not  give  a  penny. 
After  the  great  preacher  spoke  a  while  he  relented  a 
little  and  said  he  would  give  what  coppers  w^ere  in  his 
pockets.  Whitfield  went  on,  and  he  resolved  that  he 
would  give  what  silver  and  copper  he  had  in  his  pock- 
ets. The  final  appeal  was  overwhelming.  When  the 
plates  were  passed  Franklin  emptied  his  pockets,  giv- 
ing gold  and  silver  and  copper.  A  neighbor  had  taken 
the  precaution  to  empty  his  pockets  before  leaving 
home.  He  turned  to  a  Quaker  friend  and  asked  him  to 
loan  him  some  money.  "At  any  other  time  I  would  loan 
thee  all  thou  mightest  wish,"  was  the  reply,  "  but  not 
now,  for  thou  seemest  to  be  out  of  thy  senses."  It 
may  be  better  to  give  in  that  way  than  not  to  give  at 
all,  but  that  is  not  the  way  the  Scriptures  prescribe. 
Andrew  Fuller  asked  a  nobleman  whom  he  did  not 
know  for  an  offering.  The  nobleman  said,  "  If  I  could 
see  Andrew  Fuller  I  would  give  him  something."  The 
solicitor  said,  "  I  am  Andrew  Fuller."  The  nobleman 
took  a  pound  from  his  purse  and  handed  it  to  him. 
Andrew  Fuller  said,  "  I  can  take  no  money  that  is  not 
given  for  Christ's  sake."  The  nobleman  said,  "  You 
are  right;  here  are  ten  pounds  for  Christ's  sake." 
Let  each  man  do  as  he  hath  purposed  in  his  heart. 


273  MISSIONARY    ADDRESSES. 

Wc  ought  to  look  closely  into  our  affairs  and  decide 
what  we  ought  to  give,  and  give  it  whether  some  ex- 
pert solicitor  visits  us  or  not.  The  churches  of  Mace- 
donia not  only  gave  more  than  they  were  able,  but 
they  gave  of  their  own  accord,  beseeching  the  apos- 
tles with  much  entreaty  in  regard  of  this  grace  and 
the  fellowship  in  the  ministering  to  the  saints;  "  and 
this,  not  as  we  had  hoped,  but  first  they  gave  their 
own  selves  to  the  Lord;  and  to  us  by  the  will  of 
God."  They  did  not  wait  to  be  melted  or  moved  by 
some  eloquent  agent ;  their  zeal  outran  the  expecta- 
tion of  Paul.  The  secret  of  their  conduct  was  that 
they  gave  their  own  selves  first  to  the  Lord.  Having 
purposed  in  our  hearts  what  we  can  and  ought  to  do, 
we  should  be  careful  to  carry  out  our  own  purpose. 
Once  a  man  wrote  to  the  Mission  Room  and  stated 
that  he  had  two  farms  which  he  wished  to  sell,  and 
added  that  if  we  would  find  a  purchaser  he  would  give 
us  half  the  proceeds.  He  left  the  letter  on  his  desk. 
In  a  few  days  he  added  a  postscript  in  which  he  said 
he  had  changed  his  mind  on  one  point.  He  said  that 
if  we  would  find  a  purchaser  he  would  give  us  seventy- 
five  per  cent  of  the  price  of  one  farm.  He  still  left  the 
letter  on  his  desk.  In  a  few  days  after  he  said  that  tie 
had  changed  his  mind  again,  and  added  that  he  had  de- 
cided to  give  us  fifty  per  cent  of  the  price  of  one  farm 
as  our  commission.  He  did  not  send  the  letter  then. 
Some  time  after  he  added  another  postscript  in  which 
he  said  he  thought  if  he  gave  us  twenty-five  per  cent 
of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  one  farm,  he  would  give 
as  much  as  he  ought.  He  did  not  mail  his  letter  when 
he  made  that  proposition.  Soon  after  he  wrote  say- 
ing that  he  had  changed  his  mind  and  would  keep  his 
farms,  and  that  we  need  not  trouble  ourselves  any 
further  about  a  purchaser.  That  illustrates  the 
change  that  takes  phice  in  many  minds.     In  an  hour 


THIS  GRACE  ALSO.  273 

of  devotion  they  resolve  that  they  will  make  a  hand- 
some offering.  They  defer  action,  and  gradually  their 
minds  undergo  a  change,  and  they  give  nothing. 
Pledges  are  made  in  moments  of  enthusiasm,  and  after 
the  enthusiasm  dies  away  the  pledges  are  not  remem- 
bered or  are  not  redeemed.  We  ought  to  decide  in 
the  fear  of  God  what  we  should  give,  and  then  we 
should  abide  by  our  decision. 

We  are  taught  to  give  willingly  and  not  grudgingly 
or  of  necessity.  In  the  desert  it  was  proposed  to  build 
a  magnificent  tabernacle.  The  people  were  asked  for 
willing  offerings  of  material  and  for  willing  service  to 
make  of  these  materials  a  suitable  place  for  the  wor- 
ship of  God.  They  brought  bracelets,  ear-rings, 
rings,  and  tablets;  silver  and  brass  and  wood;  purple 
and  scarlet  and  fine  linen;  precious  stones  for  the 
breastplate  and  for  the  ephod;  and  spice,  and  oil  for 
the  light,  and  for  the  anointing  oil,  and  for  the  sweet 
incense.  In  a  little  while  the  people  who  were  doing 
the  work  sent  to  Moses,  saying,  "  The  people  bring 
much  more  than  enough  for  the  service  of  the  work 
which  the  Lord  commanded  to  make."  So  it  was 
proclaimed  throughout  the  camp,  "Let  neither  man 
nor  woman  make  any  more  work  for  the  offering  of 
the  sanctuary."  No  great  work  was  ever  begun  under 
more  discouraging  auspices,  but  because  so  many 
offered  willingly  there  was  sufficient  stuff  for  all  the 
work  to  make  it,  and  too  much.  We  are  told  that  the 
Lord  loveth  a  cheerful  giver.  In  the  Greek  the  word 
for  cheerful  is  "  hilarious."  The  Lord  loves  a  hilari- 
ous giver.  A  man  when  asked  for  something  said, 
"  If  you  knew  how  it  hurts  me  to  give  you  would  not 
ask  me  for  anything."  To  some,  giving  is  the  most 
lugubrious  of  all  things.  We  are  to  give  bountifully. 
We  are  to  abound  in  this  grace  also.  The  word 
18 


274  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

"abound"  signifies  enough,  and  more  than  enough, 
even  a  surplus.  The  Corinthians  abounded  in  other 
graces.  They  were  naturally  eloquent.  The  apostle 
says  they  abounded  in  "  utterance."  They  were  quick 
to  resolve,  but  somewhat  tardy  in  performance. 
There  are  those  now  who  abound  in  talk.  They  are 
ever  ready  to  contend  earnestly  in  argument  for  the 
faith  once  for  all  delivered  to  the  saints.  In  debate 
they  are  superb.  Like  Athanasius,  they  are  ready  to 
stand  against  the  world.  Walter  Scott  told  one 
church  that  it  was  "all  mouth."  It  had  the  gift  of 
tongues.  The  members  were  eager  disputers,  but 
that  was  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  their  service. 
When  it  came  to  making  and  paying  generous  sub- 
scriptions, they  began  at  once  to  make  excuses. 
Some  of  our  ablest  polemics  are  noted  for  their  fail- 
ure to  aid  any  good  cause  with  their  offerings.  In  our 
missionary  conventions  there  is  no  dearth  of  resolu- 
tions. More  Avork  is  mapped  out  in  one  year  than  is 
done  in  ten.  There  is  a  readiness  to  will,  but  when 
the  convention  is  over  the  divine  enthusiasm  evapo- 
rates and  the  performance  does  not  keep  pace  with 
the  resolves.  Any  one  who  will  take  the  trouble  to 
look  over  the  reports  of  our  Missionary  Societies  will 
see  that  all  Christians  do  not  abound  in  this  grace. 

Let  no  one  conclude  that  there  are  not  those  who 
give  bountifully.  A  Scotch  woman  lived  on  porridge 
and  gave  of  her  little  store  as  she  was  able.  A  visitor 
called  and  gave  her  sixpence  to  buy  some  palatable 
article  of  diet.  She  said,  "I  have  gotten  along  very 
well  on  porridge,"  and  gave  the  sixpence  to  help 
some  good  cause.  This  incident  was  told  at  a  mis- 
sionary breakfast.  The  guests  subscribed  eleven 
thousand  dollars  on  the  spot.  The  host  and  hostess 
put  down  their  names  for  $2,500.  One  man  remarked 
that  he  had  never  denied  himself  a  chop  for  Christ's 


THIS  GRACE  ALSO.  275 

sake  in  his  life.  Tliat  woman  gave  bountifully. 
When  John  Wesley's  income  was  £30  he  lived  on  £28 
and  gave  two.  When  his  income  was  £60  he  lived  on 
£28  and  gave  £32.  When  his  income  was  £120  he 
still  lived  on  £28  and  gave  away  the  remainder.  Dur- 
ing his  life  he  gave  from  twenty  to  thirty  thousand 
pounds.  When  called  for  a  return  of  his  silver-plate 
he  said,  "  I  have  two  silver  spoons  in  London  and  two 
in  Bristol,  and  I  shall  not  buy  any  more  while  so  many 
around  me  need  bread. "  Dr.  Meyer  tells  of  a  man  who 
has  an  income  of  $10,000,  and  gives  away  $9,000,  and 
lives  on  $1,000.  Harriet  Hosmer  gave  $50  to  educate  a 
Nestorian  student.  Five  times  she  gave  that  amount, 
thus  educating  five  young  men.  One  woman  sold  her 
jewels  and  gave  the  proceeds.  She  was  content  with 
the  ornaments  of  a  sweet  and  quiet  spirit.  General 
Gordon  gave  his  fortune,  and  not  content  with  that, 
sold  his  medals  and  gave  away  the  price.  These  gave 
bountifully.  They  abounded  in  this  as  in  other 
graces.  Others  do  differently.  They  give,  it  may  be, 
a  trifle.  They  give  what  they  never  miss  and  never 
feel.  Their  homes  are  just  as  splendid;  their  apparel 
is  just  as  costly;  their  tables  are  just  as  sumptuous. 
They  do  not  say  with  David,  "  God  forbid  that  I 
should  make  an  offering  to  the  Lord  of  that  which 
costs  me  nothing."  Dr.  Parker  tells  of  a  man  who  gave 
£25  for  missions  and  £300  for  a  greyhound.  Having 
given  so  much  to  please  his  fancy,  he  could  not  give 
much  for  the  furtherance  of  the  gospel.  Some  want 
to  know  how  little  they  can  give  and  still  have  a  right 
to  the  tree  of  life.  Whittier  speaks  of  "  these  shrewd 
economists  who  save  their  souls  and  their  winter 
pork  with  the  least  outlay  of  salt  and  sanctity."  The 
conduct  of  some  Karen  Christians  should  put  all  such 
persons  to  the  blush.  They  wanted  the  gospel  sent 
to  some  of  their  neighbors,  who  were  still  in  darkness. 


276  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

They  brought  with  them  a  most  generous  gift  to  de- 
fray expenses.  The  missionary  knew  that  they  could 
not  afford  to  give  so  much,  and  told  them  so.  They 
said,  "  Teacher,  take  it,  we  can  live  on  rats,  but  these 
people  cannot  live  without  the  gospel."  They  gave 
as  much  as  they  were  able  and  more  than  they  were 
able.  They  had  been  forgiven  much,  and  they  loved 
much. 

1 V.  Let  us  consider  the  blessedness  of  giving.  Our 
Lord  said,  "It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to 
receive."  God  is  the  great  Giver,  and  God  is  the 
blessed  and  only  Potentate.  He  is  blessed  forever. 
He  finds  joy  in  the  good  of  his  children.  Christ  was 
constantly  giving.  He  gave  his  life  to  ransom  the 
world.  He  gave  sight  to  the  blind,  cleansing  to  the 
leper,  forgiveness  to  the  penitent,  and  life  to  the 
dead.  He  was  a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with 
grief.  But  he  was  a  man  of  joys  also.  He  could  not 
fill  as  many  souls  with  gladness  as  he  did  and  not 
share  in  their  rejoicing.  One  may  find  some  joy  in 
receiving,  but  there  is  far  more  in  giving.  George 
Peabody  said,  "It  is  sometimes  hard  for  one  who  has 
devoted  the  best  part  of  his  life  to  the  accumulation 
of  money  to  spend  it  upon  others;  but  practice  it, 
and  keep  on  practicing  it,  and  I  assure  you  it  comes 
to  be  a  pleasure."  George  W.  Childs  said  the  same 
thing  in  substance.  The  pleasure  grew  with  the  prac- 
tice. Mary  Lyon  used  to  say,  "Give  till  you  feel  it, 
and  then  give  till  you  don't  feel  it."  It  becomes  a 
source  of  unspeakable  joy  when  the  habit  is  form- 
ed. Selfishness  covets  everything  and  grasps  at 
everything.  In  so  doing  one  fails  to  secure  the  pleas- 
ure sought.  Johns  Hopkins  described  himself  in  this 
way:  "You  have  seen  a  lot  of  pigs  when  they  were 
fed.  The  biggest  pig  gets  the  biggest  ear  of  corn. 
At  once  the  other  pigs  try  to  get  it  away  from  him.     I 


THIS  GRACE  ALSO.  377 

am  like  the  pig  that  has  gotten  the  biggest  ear  of 
corn;  and  now  all  the  others  are  trying  to  take  it 
from  me."  When  one  gives  as  God  gives  he  shares 
in  his  joy.  Bismarck  states  that  the  cigar  that  gave 
him  the  most  pleasure  was  one  he  never  smoked. 
Walking  over  the  field  after  the  battle  of  Sedan  was 
fought,  and  thinking  of  the  one  cigar  he  had  in  his 
case  and  of  the  pleasure  he  would  derive  from  it,  he 
found  a  soldier  whose  arms  had  been  shot  off.  He 
gave  him  a  drink,  and  lighting  the  cigar  he  placed  it 
between  his  teeth.  The  look  of.  gratitude  was  morQ 
to  him  than  any  cigar.  Some  one  wrote  to  the  mis- 
sion room  and  said,  "We  are  not  fools;  we  know  how 
to  keep  our  money."  The  New  Testament  tells  of  a 
man  who  kept  his  money.  When  his  wealth  increased 
he  thought  of  consuming  all  on  his  appetite.  The 
Lord  said  to  him,  "Thou  fool,  this  night  shall  thy 
soul  be  required,  and  then  whose  shall  all  these  things 
be  which  thou  hast  provided?"  The  man  that  makes 
and  hoards  and  shuts  his  heart  against  his  brother's 
need  is  the  fool;  not  the  man  who  seeks  his  relief. 
The  men  who  go  out  to  the  dark  lands  are  looked  up- 
on by  many  as  fanatics  or  simpletons.  They  give  their 
lives  to  seek  and  save  the  lost.  They  win  souls,  and 
they  are  wise.  They  live  Christlike  lives,  and  they 
have  a  joy  like  that  of  Christ.  No  selfish  life,  no  mat- 
ter how  many  luxuries  may  be  at  command,  can  be 
compared  with  such  a  life  in  point  of  solid  and  endur- 
ing enjoyment.  There  is  that  giveth  and  yet  increas- 
eth;  and  there  is  that  withholdethmore  than  is  meet, 
and  it  tendeth  to  poverty.  A  preacher  once  said, 
"Did  you  ever  hear  of  a  church  dying  because  it  gave 
too  much?  If  I  could  hear  of  such  an  one,  I  would 
make  a  pilgrimage  to  it,  and  I  would  say,  'Blessed 
are  the  dead  that  die  in  the  Lord.'  "  It  is  not  giving 
that  kills  a  church,  but  withholding.      It  is  when  the 


278  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

heart  sends  the  blood  out  to  the  extremities  of  the 
body,  that  there  is  health.  When  the  blood  collects 
in  the  heart  there  is  dropsy  and  death.  The  churches 
that  give  most  are  the  churches  that  flourish.  "When 
Dr.  Noble  went  to  Chicago,  he  found  the  church  small 
and  deeply  in  debt.  The  meml)ers  were  discouraged. 
When  the  time  approached  for  an  offering  for  For- 
eign Missions  he  said,  "Two  weeks  from  to-day  we 
shall  make  our  offering,  and  I  want  six  hundred  dol- 
lars." The  people  thought  he  Avas  crazy,  and  they 
said  nothing.  The  fiext  Sunday  he  said,  "One  week 
from  to-day  we  shall  make  our  offering,  and  I  want 
six  hundred  dollars."  The  people  still  thought  he  was 
not  in  his  right  mind,  and  they  did  not  reproach  him. 
The  next  Sunday  he  said,  "To-day  we  make  our  of- 
fering for  Foreign  Missions,  and  remember,  I  want 
six  hundred  dollars."  When  the  money  was  counted, 
it  amounted  to  eight  hundred.  The  people  took  heart 
and  hope  from  tluit  hour.  Soon  the  debt  was  paid, 
the  church  grew  and  prospered,  and  now  its  annual 
offerings  for  benev^olent  purposes  exceed  twelve  thous- 
and dollars.  The  church  honored  God  with  its  sub- 
stance, and  God  blessed  them  with  his  wondrous 
grace.  Alexander  Procter  said  once  that  if  the  stars 
refused  to  give  out  their  light,  they  would  be  as  dark 
as  midnight.  In  like  manner,  if  a  church  were  to  keep 
its  light  to  itself,  its  candlestick  would  be  removed,  and 
the  light  that  is  in  it  will  be  darkness.  "Bring  all 
the  tithes  into  the  storehouse;  prove  me  now  herewith, 
and  see  if  I  will  not  open  the  windows  of  heaven  and 
pour  out  such  a  blessing  that  there  shall  not  be  room 
to  receive  it."  David  and  his  people  offered  about 
$40,000,000  for  the  temple  which  Solomon  built. 
Then  they  rejoiced  because  they  offered  willingly,  be- 
cause with  perfect  heart  they  offered  willingly  to  the 
Lord. 


THIS  GRACE  ALSO.  379 

Christian  people  need  to  look  upon  themselves  and 
their  substance  from  the  scriptural  point  of  view. 
There  is  nothing  more  needed  just  now.  All  that  we 
have  belongs  to  God.  We  are  not  proprietors ;  we 
are  only  stewards.  "The  silver  is  mine,  and  the  gold 
is  mine,"  saith  the  Lord.  "The  earth  is  the  Lord's 
and  the  fullness  thereof;  the  world,  and  they  that 
dwell  therein."  "Behold,  all  souls  are  mine."  "For 
every  beast  of  the  forest  is  mine,  and  the  cattle  on  a 
thousand  hills."  After  his  munificent  offering  David 
said,  "Both  riches  and  honor  come  from  thee,  and 
thou  reignest  over  all;  all  this  store  that  we  have  pre- 
pared to  build  thee  an  house  for  thine  holy  name  com- 
eth  of  thine  hand,  and  is  all  thine  own."  We  speak 
of  a  tithe,  but  the  truth  is  all  that  we  have  belongs  to 
God  and  must  be  used  so  as  to  please  him.  He  claims 
not  one-tenth,  but  ten-tenths.  In  the  use  of  our 
money  we  must  not  lose  sight  of  God's  ownership  and 
claim.  This  is  the  great  and  notable  day  of  the  Lord. 
This  is  a  crisis  in  the  history  of  humanity.  The  whole 
world  is  open  now  to  the  gospel.  The  call  for  work- 
ers and  for  the  means  to  support  them  was  never  so 
urgent  as  now.  This  is  the  call  of  God.  If  Ave 
squander  his  means  upon  our  own  i^leasures  we  shall 
not  be  guiltless.  Last  winter  in  one  of  our  cities  a 
woman  gave  a  reception  in  honor  of  a  dog.  Was 
that  the  best  use  that  she  as  a  steward  of  God's  grace 
could  make?  How  many  people  spend  the  Lord's 
money  in  other  ways  little  better  than  this?  The  bulk 
of  the  race  needs  the  gospel.  This  is  an  extraordin- 
ary period  in  the  history  of  the  race.  In  time  of  war 
people  make  unusual  sacrifices.  Is  it  reputable  to  be 
hoarding  or  squandering  for  that  which  yields  no 
profit  at  such  a  time?  James,  speaking  of  some  in  his 
time,  said,  "Ye  have  laid  up  your  treasure  in  the  last 
days."     He    spoke  this   to  their  shame.     It   Avas   to 


280  MISSIONARY  ADDRESSES. 

these  he  said,  "Your  riches  are  corrupted,  and  your 
garments  are  moth-eaten.  Your  gold  and  your  silver 
are  rusted,  and  their  rust  shall  be  for  a  testimony 
against  you,  and  shall  eat  j'our  flesh  as  fire."  In  a 
time  of  crisis,  it  was  a  scandalous  thing  that  they  had 
lived  delicately  on  the  earth,  and  had  taken  their 
pleasure.  These  words  have  their  application  for  us 
of  this  day. 

' '  Is  this  a  time  to  plant  and  build , 
Add  house  to  house  and  field  to  field? 
While  souls  are  wandering  far  and  wide , 
And  curses  swarm  on  every  side?' ' 

If  the  churches  of  this  land  would  look  at  this  mat- 
ter as  God  does,  they  could  give  $100,000,000  or  $500,- 
000,000.  A  few  are  doing  grandly,  but  the  majority 
are  doing  nothing.  Our  Lord  said,  "Lay  not  up 
treasures  upon  earth,  where  moth  and  rust  corrupt, 
and  where  thieves  break  through  and  steal."  That  is 
not  a  dead  letter.  That  is  binding  upon  his  disciples 
to-day  and  shall  be  for  all  time.  "Take  heed  and  be- 
ware of  covetousness."  There  is  need  of  that  note 
of  warning  now.  A  Methodist  prophfet  said  that  more 
people  would  go  to  hell  from  the  Methodist  Church  on 
account  of  covetousness  than  on  account  of  any  other 
sin.  Intemperance,  it  has  been  said,  slays  its  thous- 
ands, but  covetousness  its  ten  thousands.  Xavier 
said,  "I  have  had  many  people  resort  to  me  for  con- 
fession. The  confession  of  every  sin  that  I  have  ever 
heard  of,  and  of  sins  so  foul  that  I  never  dreamed  of 
them,  has  been  poured  into  my  ears,  but  no  one  per- 
son has  ever  confessed  to  me  the  sin  of  covetousness." 
This  is  one  of  the  most  deceitful  as  well  as  one  of  the 
most  damning  of  all  sins.  It  is  a  sin  of  which  very 
few  suspect  they  are  guilty.  It  is  a  respectable  sin. 
None  the  less  is  it  a  sin.  None  the  less  is  it  idolatry, 
and  no  idolater   shall   inherit  the  kingdom  of  God. 


THIS  GRACE  ALSO.  281 

Luther  used  to  say  that  one  needed  a  threefold  con- 
version, that  of  his  head,  his  heart,  and  his  pocket- 
book.  Some  one  has  said  that  the  book  sealed  with 
the  seven  seals  that  no  man  could  open  was  the  pock- 
etbook.  We  need  to  feel  that  every  dollar  in  our 
keeping  belongs  to  God  and  must  be  used  so  as  to  best 
promote  the  interests  of  his  kingdom.  If  we  live  to 
make  and  hoard,  and  make  that  the  great  end  and  aim 
of  life,  we  shall  live  in  vain.  If  we  live  to  please 
God  and  to  adv^ance  his  work  in  every  way  jjossible, 
we  shall  accomplish  the  purpose  which  he  had  in 
mind  in  our  creation.  As  a  people,  we  have  had  a 
marvelous  history.  Our  growth  in  numbers  is  with- 
out a  parallel.  Our  prosperity  in  the  future  will  de- 
pend to  some  extent  upon  our  liberality.  We  may 
have  all  knowledge,  so  that  we  can  fathom  all  mys- 
teries; we  may  be  able  to  vanquish  in  the  arena  of  de- 
bate all  who  differ  from  us ;  but  if  we  are  not  willing 
to  give  of  our  means  as  the  interests  of  the  cause  of 
Christ  may  require,  we  cannot  continue  to  prosper. 
If  we  eat  the  fat  and  drink  the  sweet,  and  send  no 
portions  to  them  for  whom  nothing  has  been  prepar- 
ed, we  shall  not  be  blessed.  If  we  withhold  our 
offerings,  we  will  rob  God,  and  we  shall  be  cursed 
with  the  curse.  If  we  do  what  we  can,  he  will  do  for 
us  far  exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that  we  ask  or 
think.  While  we  seek  to  al^ound  in  everything — in 
faith,  in  utterance,  in  knowledge,  in  earnestness,  and 
in  love — shall  we  not  see  to  it  that  we  abound  in  this 
grace  also? 


APPENDIX. 


The  names  and  brief  accounts  of  the  men  and  women  who 
have  labored  tinder  the  auspices  of  the  Foreign  Christian  Mis- 
sionary Society  are  given  below.  The  names  of  those  who 
labored  for  a  brief  season  only  are  omitted.  A  few  other  names 
are  omitted  because  nothing  is  known  by  the  writer  of  their 
personal  history.  The  figureo  in  parenthetical  marks  indicate 
the  years  of  seiwice. 

M.\RY  D.  Adams  (1883 ) .     Born  and  reared  in  Ohio— Went 

with  her  husband  to  Bilaspur,  India— Studied  the  language — 
Has  taught  in  the  Sundaj"- schools — Has  done  Bible  work  among 
the  women  in  their  homes — Has  given  the  people  an  exhibition 
of  applied  Christianity  in  her  own  home. 

M.  D.  Adams  (1883 ).     Born  and  educated  in  Yincennes, 

Ind. — Preached  in  Steubenville,  Ohio — Went  to  India— Settled 
in  Bilaspur — Built  a  bungalow — Preaches  in  that  city  and  in  the 
surrounding  country . 

T.  J.  Arnold  (1890 ).  Raised  and  trained  in  London- 
Accepted  for  service  in  China — Preaches  in  Wuhu  and  vicinity. 

LiLLiE  McCuxE  Bextley  (1890 ).     Born  and  educated  in 

Braddock,  Pa. — Married  to  W.  P.  Bentley — Helps  the  work  of 
the  mission  as  she  has  opportunity. 

W.  P.  Bextley  (1890 ).  Graduated  from  Bethany- 
Preaches  and  teaches  in  Shanghai — Evangelizes  throughout  the 
district — Serves  as  Treasurer  of  the  Mission — Is  Secretary  of  the 
Y.  P.  S.  C.  E.  in  China. 

T.  S.  Buckingham— Born  in  England— Preached  among  the 
English  churches  eleven  years — Assisted  at  West  London  Tab- 
ernacle some  time — Came  to  America  in  1891. 

Dr.  James  Butchart  (1890 ).     A  Canadian— Educated  in 

Cincinnati  and  New  York— A  gold  medalist — Associated  with 
Dr.  Macklin  in  China — Preaches  to  the  patients  and  to  thou- 
sands of  others  besides. 

(28;}) 


284  APPENDIX. 

Jules  De  Launay  (1878-1886).  Educated  in  France  for  the 
priesthood — Became  a  Protestant — Lectured  on  the  Catacombs — 
— Was  sent  to  Paris — Labored  there  till  the  work  was  discontin  ■ 
ued — Died  some  years  ago. 

Dr.  C.  S.  DURAND  (1887 ) .  Went  to  India  from  Missouri- 
Healed  the  sick  and  preached  the  gospel — Has  erected  a  Hospital 
and  a  Leper  Asylum — Has  given  some  of  this  class  a  knowledge 
of  the  truth— Has  treated  many  thousands . 

EiiMA  DURAND  (1887 ).     Took   some  courses  in  medicine 

with  her  husband  in  New  York— Has  greatly  assisted  him  in 
the  medical  department  of  the  Mission — Has  helped  in  other 
ways  according  to  her  ability — Is  now  in  Colorado  in  hope  that 
her  health  may  be  restored. 

W.  Durban  (1884 ).     Organized  a  church  in  Fulham,  a 

populous  district  of  Northwest  London— In  1892  removed  to 
Hornsey — Is  still  there — Has  helped  to  edit  the  Commonwealth 
all  this  time. 

H.  S.  Earl  (1876-1891).  Began  the  work  in  Southampton, 
England — Organized  a  church — Erected  a  fine  building — La- 
bored in  Cheltenham  and  Liverpool — Lives  now  in  Irvington, 
Ind. 

Joseph  a  Franklin  (1893 ).      Daughter   of   Joseph,    and 

granddaughter  of  Benjamin  Franklin— Taught  in  Anderson, 
Ind.— Accepted  for  work  in  India — Is  engaged  on  the  language 
— Talks  to  the  people  as  she  is  able  about  sin  and  salvation . 

C.  E.  Garst  (1883 ).     Born  in  Ohio— Educated  at  West 

Point  and  at  Butler — Went  to  Japan— Preached  Christ  in  Akita , 
Shonai,  Tokyo  and  other  cities — Conducts  a  Japanese  magazine 
— Lives  now  in  Tokyo. 

Laura  De  Laney  Garst  (1883 ).      Is  a  granddaughter  of 

Jonas  Hartzell — Was  married  to  C.  E.  Garst  while  in  the  army 
— Went  to  Japan — Has  contributed  as  she  could  to  the  further- 
ance of  the  gospel. 

A.  J.  L.  Gliddon  (1884-1888).  Assisted  in  the  work  of  the 
West  London  Tabernacle — In  1885  went  to  Southampton — Re- 
signed in  1888— -Afterwards  served  the  Southport  Church — Is 
now  in  business  in  London. 

Evelyn  M.  Gordon  (1891 ).  United  with  us  in  India- 
Engaged  to  work  in  Mungeli — Has  the  oversight  now  of  that 
part  of  India. 

H.   H.   Guy  (1893 ).     Born  in  Iowa— Educated  in  Drake 

University — Is  now  in  Tokyo ,  Japan — Engaged  in  the  study  of 


APPENDIX.  285 

the  language — Makes  known  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ 
as  he  is  able . 

Mattie  Guy  (1893 ) .   Educated  with  her  husband  in  Drake 

University — Went  to  Japan— Has  given  her  life  to  save  that 
people. 

J.J.  Haley  (1890-1894).  Served  the  church  in  Birkenhead— 
Erected  a  building — Resigned — Preaches  now  in  Cynthiana, 
Ky. — Is  one  of  the  editors  of  the  Christian- Evangelist . 

Calla  Harrison  (1886-1893).  Lived  and  taught  in  Madison, 
Ind. — Went  to  Japan— Trained  a  number  of  young  girls  for  use- 
fulness^Conducted  Bible  classes  and  Sunday-schools — Carried 
the  gospel  into  many  Japanese  homes — Is  now  in  Honolulu. 

B.  H.  Hayden  (1884,  1885).  Selected  for  the  English  field  by 
Timothy  Coop — Began  a  work  in  Bishopsfield,  a  part  of  Chester 
— Carried  on  a  work  in  Ingleton — Visited  Egypt  and  Palestine — 
Is  now  in  Worcester,  Mass. 

E.  P.  Hearnden  (1886 ) .    Went  out  from  the  West  London 

Tabernacle  to  China — Preached  in  Nankin,  and  in  the  cities 
within  reach  of  Nankin. 

Dr.  A.  W.  Hitt  (1893-1895).  Educated  in  Louisville,  Ky.— 
Practiced  medicine  in  St.  Louis — Went  to  India — Located  in 
Mungeli — Began  to  prescribe  the  day  of  his  arrival — Continued 
his  work  till  failing  health  drove  him  to  the  hills  and  then  home. 

T.  R.  HODKINSON  (1887-1889).  Born  in  England— Preached 
for  the  Wesleyans  for  twenty  j^ears — United  with  the  Disciples 
in  Southampton — Served  the  West  London  Tabernacle  as  co- 
pastor  for  two  years — Preached  for  the  church  in  Southport 
three  years— Came  to  America  in  1892. 

A.   HoLCK  (1876 ).     A  native  of  Denmark — United  with 

the  church  in  Cincinnati — Sent  to  Copenhagen — Sujjerintends 
the  work  in  Denmark  and  Norway. 

W.  R.  Hunt  (1890 ).  Born  in  London— Member  of  church 

in  West  London  Tabernacle — .Joined  the  Mission  in  China — 
Preached  in  Chucheo,  Luhoh  and  Nankin. 

G.  W.  Jackson  (1886-1891).  United  with  the  church  in 
Bilaspur — Made  Mungeli  his  home — Built  a  bungalow  there — 
Preached  far  and  near — Came  home  on  account  of  failing  health 
— Is  now  in  England.  • 

Helen    Levermore   Jackson   (1886 ).      Miss    Levermore 

went  out  from  the  West  London  Tabernacle  to  India — Taught  in 
the  schools  and  visited  the  women  in  their  homes — Married  — 
Continues  her  work  in  the  Mission — Receives  no  salary. 

Kate  V.  Johnson  (1886 ).  Left  Madison,  Ind. ,  for  Japan — 


286  APPENDIX. 

Has  been  busy  in  the  work  except  the  year  in  which  she  had  her 
furlough — Has  labored  in  Akita  and  Tokyo — Has  traveled 
thi'ough  the  empire  proclaiming  Christ  to  the  people . 

Hattie  L.  Judson  (1893 ).     Born  in  Danbury,  Conn. — 

Chosen  to  serve  in  India — Made  Hurda  her  home — Began  the 
study  of  the  language — Does  what  she  can  in  every  way  to  win 
India  for  Christ. 

Dr.   Garabed  Kevorkian  (1884 ).     An  Armenian— Took 

his  medical  degree  in  Louisville^Sent  to  Turkey  in  Asia — Lives 
in  Marsivan — Has  the  oversight  of  the  work  in  that  part  of  the 
country. 

Emma  Lyon  (1893 ).  Born  in  Washington ,  Pa.— Gradu- 
ated from  Bethany — Since  reaching  China  has  been  studying  the 
langiiage,  teaching  the  girls,  and  talking  to  the  patients  in  the 
hospital  about  Jesus. 

John  G.  McGavran  (1891 ).     Born  in  Ohio— Educated  in 

Bethany — Sent  to  India — Labored  in  Bilaspur  and  Kawardha — 
Has  preached  to  thousands  who  had  never  heard  of  the  Christ. 

Dr.  W.  E.  Macklin  (1885 -) .     A  Canadian  by  birth— Went 

first  to  Japan — Thence  to  China — Settled  in  Nankin  and  began 
medical  work — Works  in  the  Hospital  and  in  the  dispensaries — 
Preaches  to  the  patients. 

A.  Martin  (1884-1888).  Began  the  work  in  Birkenhead — In 
1885  succeeded  M.  D.  Todd  in  Liverpool — Resigned— Is  now 
preaching  in  Marshalltown,  Iowa. 

F.  E.  Meigs  (1887 ).     Came  from  Wisconsin— Labored  as 

Sunday-school  Evangelist  in  Missouri — Went  to  China — Took 
charge  of  the  educational  work  in  Nankin — Preaches  in  that  and 
other  cities. 

Mattie  Redford  Meigs   (1887 ).     Born  and  educated  in 

Missouri — Taught  with  her  husband  in  Fulton — Went  to  China — 
Has  labored  in  the  Mission  according  to  her  strength. 

O.  C.  Mikkelsen  (1885 ).  Educated  in  Kentucky  Univer- 
sity— Associated  with  Dr.  Hoick  in  Denmark. 

C.  E.  MoLLAND  (1889 ).     An  Irishman  by  birth — Came  to 

us  in  China— Had  been  an  independent  missionary — Has  labored 
in  Wuhu — His  family  had  to  leave  in  the  riots — Are  back  now. 

W.  T.  Moore  (1878-1891).  Began  his  work  in  Southport— 
Removed  to  Liverpool — Thence  to  London  in  1883^Elected 
minister  of  the  West  London  Tabernacle — Served  till  1891 — 
Edited  at  the  same  time  The  Christian  Commonwealth — Wrote 
books  and  booklets — Lives  in  London  and  edits  his  paper. 

Lavinia  Oldham   (1893 ).     Born  in  Mt.  Sterling,  Ky. — 


APPENDIX.  287 

Taught  school — Went  to  Japan — Conducts  charity  schools,  Sun- 
day-schools and  Bible  classes. 

J.  E.  Powell  (1888-1893).  Spent  these  five  years  in  South- 
ampton— Resigned  and  came  to  America. 

Kate  Rambo  (1891 ) .     A  native  of  New  England — Taught 

in  Lexington — Married  W.  E.  Rambo — Shares  with  him  the 
labors  and  cares  of  the  Orphanage — Helps  other  departments  of 
the  Mission  as  she  is  able. 

W.  E.  Rambo  (1891 ).  Educated  in  Kentucky  Univer- 
sity— Preached  in  that  State — Sent  to  India — Has  had  charge  of 
the  Orphanage  in  addition  to  his  evangelistic  work. 

Mary  M.  Rioch  (1893 ).    Born  and  trained  in  Ontario — 

Volunteered  for  Japan — Is  supported  by  the  women  of  Canada — 
Teaches  the  children  and  women. 

Sue  a.  Robinson  (1887-1892).  Lived  in  St.  Louis— Won  Jeu 
Hawk  to  Christ — Went  to  India — Did  what  she  could  in  Hurda — 
Died  in  faith. 

A.  F.  H.  Saw  (1886 ).      Went  out  from   West  London 

Tabernacle  to  China — Itinerates  and  preaches  to  the  people — 
Married  to  Miss  Funk. 

G.  N.  Shishmanian  (1879 ).     An  Armenian  by  birth — Led 

to  Christ  in  Dallas — Educated  in  Kentucky  University — Sent  to 
labor  in  Turkey — Lives  in  Constantinople — Oversees  the  woi'k  in 
that  city  and  in  that  part  of  the  Empire . 

Candace  Lhamon  Smith  (1888-1893).  Taught  in  Oxford- 
Served  in  Ohio  as  State  Organizer  under  the  Woman '  s  Board — 
Married  to  George  T.  Smith — Went  with  him  to  Japan — In  the 
schools  and  homes  she  sought  to  give  the  people  of  that  land  a 
knowledge  of  God. 

George  T.  Smith  (1883-1893).  Born  in  Cincinnati— Served  in 
the  army— Educated  in  Bethany — Preached  in  Swampscott, 
Bucyrus  and  Warren — Sent  to  Japan — Lived  in  Akita  and 
Tokyo — Evangelized  in  other  cities  of  the  Empire — Preaches 
now  in  Steubenville,  Ohio. 

Josephine  W.  Smith  (1883-1885) .  Born  and  educated  in  Nova 
Scotia — Married  to  George  T.  Smith — Went  with  him  to  Japan — 
Died  in  Akita — The  Woman's  Board  built  a  memorial  chapel 
there  in  her  memory. 

Eugene  Snodgrass  (1888-1892).  Graduated  from  Kentucky 
University — Preached  in  Ashland — Sent  to  Japan — Lived  in 
Akita  and  Tokyo — Resigned— Is  now  in  America. 

E.  H.  Spring  (1892 ).     Had  charge  of  the  work  in  Chel- 


288  APPENDIX. 

tenham  and  Gloucester — Was  assisted  for  a  time  by  W.  E. 
Hogg — Has  Eli  Brearley  as  an  associate . 

E.  S.   Stevens   (1893 ).     Educated  at  Ada,  Ohio,  and  in 

Kentucky  University — Sent  to  Japan — Has  lived  and  labored 
in  Tokyo— With  the  aid  of  an  interpreter  has  preached  from  the 
time  of  his  arrival . 

Dr.  Nina  Asbury  Stevens   (1892 ).     Born  in  Augusta, 

Ky. — Educated  in  Cleveland — Married  to  E.  S.  Stevens — Is 
healing  the  sick  and  publishing  glad  tidings  of  good  things  in 
Japan. 

Mary  Thompson  (1891 ).  W^s  sent  to  India  and  sup- 
ported by  the  churches  in  Australia — Teaches  in  Sunday-schools 
and  in  day  schools — Visits  the  Zenanas  to  tell  the  inmates  of 
Christ  and  his  salvation. 

M.  D.  Todd  (1878-1885).  Labored  four  years  in  Chester, 
England — Organized  a  church  there — Removed  to  Liverpool — 
Health  failing,  he  went  to  California  and  died — His  son,  Earl 
M.  Todd,  preaches  now  in  Chester. 

F.  W.  Troy  (1888-1894).  Preached  first  in  Cheltenham- 
Planted  a  church  in  Gloucester — Took  the  work  in  Liverpool — 
Came  to  America — Preaches  now  in  Brooklyn. 

J.  M.  Van  Horn  (1881-1890).  Took  the  work  in  Chester- 
Made  that  chnrch  self-supporting — In  1886  went  to  Birken- 
head— Preached  in  Miisic  Hall — Resigned — Preaches  now  in 
Warren,  Ohio. 

G.  T.  Walden  (1892 ).  Educated  in  Kentucky  Uni- 
versity—  Returned  to  Australia  —  Preached  in  Melbourne — 
Succeeded  W.  T.  Moore  as  minister  of  the  West  London  Taber- 
nacle— Is  seeking  to  make  that  church  self-supporting. 

James  Ware  (1890 ) .    An  Englishman — Had  been  an  agent 

of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  in  China — Labors  in 
Shanghai — Preaches'  in  Tsungming — His  wife  carries  on  a  work 
among  the  women  and  girls  in  the  Shanghai  Cotton  Mills. 

Emma  Richardson  Wharton  (1883 ) .    Daughter  of  Robert 

Richardson,  the  friend  and  biographer  of  Alexander  Campbell — 
Married  to  G .  L .  Wharton — Teaches  in  the  Mission — Goes  into 
the  homes  with  the  gospel — In  her  own  home  shows  the  natives 
the  fruit  of  the  Spirit. 

G.  L.  Wharton  (1883 -).    Educated  in  Bethany — Preached 

in  Buffalo — Sent  to  India — Selected  Hurda  as  the  base  of  opera- 
tions—Teaches and  preaches — Has  opened  a  Bible  and  Training 
School. 


APPENDIX.  289 

Carrie  Loos  "Williams  (1887-1893).  Born  and  educated  in 
Bethany — Taught  in  Cohimbia  and  Daj-ton — Married  to  E.  T. 
"Williams — "Worked  in  Nankin — Died  in  Cincinnati. 

E.  T.  "Williams  (1887 ).     Born  in  Ohio— Graduated  from 

Bethany — Preached  in  Springfield,  Brooklyn  and  Cincinnati — 
"Went  to  China — Preached  in  Nankin — Edits  the  Chinese  Review. 

Rose    Sickler    "Williams    (1890 ).     Bom,    educated    and 

taught  in  Pennsylvania — Took  charge  of  the  work  among  the 
girls  in  Nankin — "Worked  in  the  homes — Married  to  E.  T. 
Williams . 

LoDUSKA  "WiRiCK   (1891 ) .     Educated  in  Drake  University 

— Sent  to  Japan — Labored  in  Tokyo — Is  supported  by  the  Belle 
Bennett  Band. 


A  SELECT  BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


The  books  named  below  are  all  considered  good.  Those  con- 
sidered by  the  writer  of  great  value  are  marked  with  a  star  (*)  ; 
those  considered  of  the  greatest  value  are  marked  with  two 
stars  (**). 

I.     GENERAL  BOOKS  ON  MISSIONS. 

American  Heroes  on  Mission  Fields  (Hayden) f  1  25 

Around -the -World  Tour  of   Christian    Missions   (Bain- 

bridge)* 2  00 

Encyclopedia  of  Missions  (Bliss)** 12  00 

Eschol  (Humphrey)** 75 

Foreign  Missions  After  a  Century  (Dennis)** 1  50 

Foreign  Missions,  their  Place  in  the  Pastorate,  in  Prayer, 

in  Conferences  (Thompson)* 1  75 

Gist  (Gracey)* 60 

Manual  of  Modern  Missions  (Gracey)* 1  25 

Missionary  Addresses  (Thoburn)* 60 

Missionary  Heroes  and  Heroines  (Wise) 90 

Mission  Stories  in  Many  Lands  (American  Board)* 1  25 

Modern  Missions  and  Culture  (Warneck)* 2  50 

Morning  Light  in  Manj^  Lands  (March)** 2  00 

New  Acts  of  the  Apostles  (Pierson)* 1  50 

New  Testament  and  Old  Testament** 

Pioneers  and  Founders  (Yonge)* 1  75 

The  Crisis  of  Missions  (Pierson) .  *    Cloth,  35  cts 1  25 

The  Divine  Enterprise  of  Missions  (Pierson)* 1  25 

The  Dragon,  Image  and  Demon  (Dubose)* 2  00 

The  Ely  Volume  ;  or,  Contribiations  of  Foreign  Missions  to 

Science  and  Human  Well -Being** 3  00 

The  Greatest  Work  in  the  World  (Pierson) 35 

The  Great  Value  and  Success  of  Foreign  Missions  CLig- 

gins)  ** 75 

The  Evangelization  of  the  World  (Broomhall)** 1  50 

The  Student  Missionary  Enterprise* 1  50 

Women  of  the  Orient  (Houghton)* 1  25 

World's  Missionary  Conference  Report.**      Two  large 

volumes — of  the  very  greatest  value *. 2  00 

(290) 


A  SELECT  BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


II.     HISTORY  OF  MISSIONS. 

Foreign  Missions  of  the  Protestant  Churches  (Mitchell)* .  .$      50 
History    of    Christian    Missions    in    the    Middle    Ages 

(Maclear)**  2  00 

Moravian  Missions  (Thompson)* 3  00 

Outline  of  the  History  of  Protestant  Missions  (Warneck)**  1  25 

Short  History  of  Christian  Missions  (Smith)**  1  00 

III.     BOOKS  RELATING  TO  MISSIONARY  LANDS. 

Africa. 

Among  the  Metabele  (Carnegie) 60 

Children  of  Africa  (Marston ) 1  25 

Forty  Years  Among  the  Zulus  (Tyler) 1  25 

Life  on  the  Congo  (Bentley) 60 

Missionary  Landscapes  in  the  Dark  Continent  (Johnson)*  1  25 

On  the  Congo  (Guinness) 50 

Reality  Versus  Romance  in  South  Central  Africa(  Johns- 
ton)    5  00 

The  New  World  of  Central  Africa  (Guinness)* ,  2  00 

The  Rise  of  Our  East  African  Empire  (Lugard)** 16  80 

The  Congo  (Stanley)** 10  00 

The  Story  of  Uganda  (Stock)* \ 1  25 

Through  the  Dark  Continent  (Stanley)**  10  00 

Trophies  from  African  Heathenism  (Young)* 1  40 

Tropical  Africa  (Drummond)  * 25 

Alaska. 

Alaska  and  Missions  on  the  North  Pacific  Coast  (Jackson)*  1  50 

Among  the  Alaskans  (Wright) 1  25 

Life  in  Alaska  (Willard) 1  25 

Arabia. 

Mohamet  and  Islam  (Muir)** 2  00 

The  Koran  (Muir)* 1  00 

The  Women  of  the  Arabs  ( Jessup)  * 1  25 

China. 

Children  of  China  (Marston) 1  25 

China  (Gracey)* 15 

China  and  the  Chinese  (Nevius)** 1  50 

Chinese  Characteristics  (Smith)** 2  00 

Chinese  Stories  for  Boys  and  Girls  (Moule) 50 

In  the  Far  East  (Guinness)* 1  50 

Missionary  Success  in  Formosa  (Campbell) 

New  China  and  Old  (Moule)* 1  50 

Old  Wang  (Ross) 60 

The  Cross  and  the  Dragon  (Henry)* 1  50 

The  Middle  Kingdom  (Williams)**  9  00 

Greenland. 

Amid  Greenland  Snows  (Page) 75 


A  SELECT  BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

India. 

Children  of  India  (Marston) $1  25 

Every-Day  Life  in  India  (Rowe) 1  50 

History  of  the  Tehigu  Mission  (Downie) 

India  and  Malaysia  (Thoburn)** 1  50 

India  and  its  Millions  (Osborne)* 1  00 

Protestant  Missions  in  India  (Sherring)* 2  40 

The  Bishop's  Conversion  (Maxwell)** 1  50 

The  Conversion  of  India  (Smith)* 1  50 

The  High -Caste  Hindu  Woman  (Ramabai) 

Japan. 

An  American  Missionary  in  Japan  (Gordon)* 1  25 

Japan  (Murray) 1  50 

Religions  of  Japan  (Grifl&s)** 2  00 

The  Ainu  of  Japan  (Batchelor)* 1  50 

The  Mikado's  Empire  (Griffis)** 4  00 

The  Sunrise  Kingdom  (Carrothers) 2  00 

Things  Japanese  (Chamberlain)** 3  50 

Java. 

Java ;  The  Pearl  of  the  East  (Higginson) 75 

Korea. 

Korean  Tales  (Allen) 1  25 

Korea ;  The  Hermit  Nation  (Griffis) 2  25 

Korea ;  Without  and  Within  (Griffis) 1  15 

Madagascar. 

Madagascar,   its  Missionaries  and  ^Martyrs 75 

Madagascar  of  To-day  (Shaw) . . .' 25 

The  Story  of  Madagascar  (Mears) 1  15 

Mexico. 

Mexico  in  Transition  (Butler) 2  00 

Mexico  ;   Past  and  Present  (Johnson) 1  50 

Sketches  of  Mexico  (Butler) 1  00 

The  Native  Religions  of  Mexico  and  Peru  (Reville) 1  50 

Twenty  Years  among  the  Mexicans  (Rankin) 1  25 

New  Guinea. 

Adventures  in  New  Guinea  (Chalmers) 25 

Among  the  Cannibals  in  New  Guinea  (MacFarland)* 1  25 

Pioneering  in  New  Guinea  (Chalmers)* 6  40 

North  America. 

A  Century  of  Dishonor  (Jackson)* 1  50 

Canoe  and  Dog-Train  (Young)** 1  25 

Forty -two  Years  among  the  Indians  and  Eskimos  (Batty)  1  00 

Indian  Wigwams  and  Northern  Camp-fires  (Young)**..  1  25 

The  Gospel  among  the  Dakotas  (Riggs) 1  50 

The  Story  of  Metlakahtla  (Wellcome) 1  50 


A  SELECT  BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Persia. 

Persia  and  Persians  (Benjamin)** $  4  00 

Persia.     The  Land  of  the  Imaums  (Bassett) 1  50 

Women  and  the  Gospel  in  Persia  (Laurie) 30 

Tibet. 

Among  the  Tibetans  (Bishop) 1  00 

Great  Closed  Land  (Marston) 1  25 

Siam. 

Kingdom  and  People  of  Siam  (Bowring) 8  00 

Land  of  the  White  Elephant  (Vincent) 3  50 

One  Thousand  Miles  on  an  Elephant  in  the  Shan  States 

(Hallett) 

Siam  ;    or,  the  Heart  of  Farther  India  (Cort) 1  00 

Siam  and  Laos 1  85 

South  America. 

Adventures  in  Patagonia  (Coan)* 1  25 

Allen  Francis  Gardiner  (Marsh ) 1  50 

The  Neglected  Continent  (Guinness)* 60 

South  Seas. 

Among   the    Maoris 75 

At  Home  in  Fiji  (Gordon-Cummimg)* 1  25 

Cannibals  Won  for  Christ  (Michelsen)* 1  00 

From  Darkness  to  Light  in  Polynesia  (Gill)*   2  40 

From  Island  to  Island  in  the  South  Seas  (Cousins)* 25 

Life  in  Hawaii  (Coan) ** 1  75 

Missionary  Enterprise  in  the  South  Sea   Islands    (Wil- 
liams)**   1  25 

Morning  Star  (Warren) 1  00 

The  Southern  Cross  (Tucker) , 1  25 

\  Turkey. 

Among  the  Turks  (Hamlin)** 1  50 

Five  Years  in  Damascus  (Porter) 3  75 

Forty  Years  in  the  Turkish  Empire  (Prime) 1  50  ■ 

Syrian  Home  Life  ( Jessup) 1  25 

The  Mohammedan  Missionary  Problem  (Jessup) 75 

The  Land  and  the  Book  (Thomson) ** 18  00 

IV.     MISSIONARY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

Brainerd,  David  (Page)** 75 

Calvert ,  James* 75 

Carey,  William  (Myers) 75 

Carey,    William  (Smith)** 2  00 

Chalmers ,  James  (Robson) 75 

Crowther,  Samuel  (Page) 75 

Duff,    Alexander  (Smith)**   3  00 

Gilmour ,  James,  of  Mongalia 1  75 

Judson,  Adoniram  (Judson)** 1  50 


A  SELECT  BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Hannington,  James   (Dawson)** $  1  00 

Heber,  Reginald. 75 

Livingstone .    David** 75 

Mackay ,    Alexander  M . ** 1  50 

Martyn,    Henry 75 

Martyn,  Henry,  Saint  and  Scholar  (Smith)** 3  00 

Moffat,  Robert  and  Mary  (By  their  Son)* 2  00 

Paton ,  John  G.     An  Autobiography** 2  00 

Morrison,    Robert  (Townsend) 75 

Neesima,  Joseph  Hardy  ( Hardy)* 2  00 

Patteson ,  Bishop  (Page) 75 

Schauffier,  W.   G.     An  Autobiography 1  00 

Williams ,  John 75 

V.     MEDICAL  MISSIONS. 

McKenzie,  John  Kenneth  (Bryson)** 1  50 

Medical  Missions  (Lowe)** 1  50 

Murdered  Millions  (Dowkontt)* 15 


VI.     WOMAN'S  WORK  IN  MISSIONS. 

Faith  Working  by  Love  (Fiske) 1  50 

Heroines  of  the  Mission  Enterprise  (Gardner) 2  00 

Missionary  Ladies  in  Foreign  Lands  (Pitman) 75 

Our  Missionary  Heroines  (Gracey) ** 15 

Non-Christian  Religions. 

Brahmanism  and  Hinduism  (Williams) 4  50 

Buddhism  (Davids) 1  00 

Buddhism  (Williams) 5  25 

Buddhism  in  China  (Beal) 1  00 

Chinese  Buddhism    (Edkins) .^ 4  50 

Confucianism  and  Taoism  (Douglass) 1  00 

False  Gods ;    Idol  Worship  of  the  World  (Dobbins  and 

Williams)  3  75 

Hinduism   (Williams) 1  00 

Hinduism,  Past  and  Present  (Mitchell) * 1  60 

Islam  as  a  Missionary  Religion  (Harris) 1  00 

Oriental  Religions  and  Christianity  (Ellinwood) 1  75 

MISSIONARY  MAPS. 

China 75 

India  and  Ceylon 75 

Japan  75 

Micronesia 70 

Turkey  1  25 

The   World  (Colton) 13  50 

The  World.     A  Small  Work 50 


INDEX. 


Aborigines,  disappearing,  126,  127. 

Adelbert,  bishop  of  Prague,  196; 
killed  in  Prussia,  89. 

Africa,  degradation  of,  215;  open,  48; 
success  in,  114,  214,  215;  white 
man's  grave,  107,  108. 

Africaner,  114. 

African  Mission,  231. 

Africans,  "the  men,"  24. 

Agnew,  Miss,  139. 

Aidan,  apostle  of  Nortluimbria,  189. 

Allen,  Albert,  bequest,  19. 

Allen,  Dr. ,  in  Corea,  254,  260. 

Amandus,  190. 

Americans,  all  not  converted,  36. 

American  Board,  211. 

American  Christian  Missionary  So- 
ciety, 226;  work  of,  230,  232. 

American  Home  Missionary,  The, 233. 

Ancestors,  condition  of  our,  37. 

Angell,  President,  125. 

Anskar,  5,  38,  192,  193. 

Antioch,  preaching  in,  167,  168. 

Apostle,  meaning  of,  152:  all  engaged 
in  missionary  work,  176;  preached 
everywhere,  172,  173. 

Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  43,  44. 

Arnold,  Sir  Edwin,  115. 

Assam,  giving  in,  269. 

Augustine,  apostle  of  England,  38,188. 


Bainbridge,  145. 

Barclay,  Dr.  J.  T. ,  230. 

Beardslee,  J.  O. ,  231,  232. 

Bertha,  Queen  of  Kent,  137. 

Bible,  translated,  52,  53;    in  African 

village,  64,  55;  in  Madagascar,  53; 

in  Rome,  54. 
Bishop,  Mrs.,  on  the  sick  in  heathen 

lands,  259. 
Bismarck,  277. 

Boardman,  Mrs.,  among  Karens,  139. 
Body,  gospel  cares  for,  249. 
Bogoris,  baptized,  194. 
Boleslav,  195. 
Bompas,  Bishop,  109. 
Boniface,   5;    evangelized   Germany, 

38;   sketch  of  life  and  work,  191; 

killed,  89. 
Borneo,  115,  116. 

(2 


Brahman,  question  of,  17. 

Brainerd,  David,  6;    life  and  work, 

203,  204,  207. 
Bridges,  Thomas,  73,  74. 
Bridget,  St. ,  in  Ireland,  1.38. 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society, 209. 
British  Islands  won  to  the  Faith,  186. 
Bruno,  murdered,  196. 
Bulgaria,  conversion  of,  137. 
Bunyan,  163. 
Burmah,  success  of  the  gospel  in,  67, 

68. 
Burnet,  D.  S. ,  quoted,  227,  233. 
Business  in  Christianity,  235. 
Butler,  Bishop,  222. 


Caldwell,  Dr. ,  77. 

Calvert,  James,  116. 

Calvin,  6. 

Campbell,  Alexander,  felt  the  need  of 
co-operation,  225;  quoted,  227,  228. 

Carey,  William,  6;  life  and  work  of, 
207,  208;  heroism  of,  90,  91,  92. 

Challen,  James,  228. 

Charlemagne,  fought  Saxons,  197. 

Childs,  G.  W.,  276. 

China,  closed,  47;  hostility  to  the  gos- 
pel, 216;  work  in,  216,  244,  245; 
success  in,  67,  68. 

Chinese,  "Celestials,"  24;  treatment 
of  in  America,  125,  126. 

Christ,  a  missionary,  152, 161;  accepts 
no  substitute,  41;  command  and 
promise  of,  27;  could  not  convert 
all,  .36;  first  missionary  tour,  154; 
second  tour,  155,  156;  third  tour, 
156. 

Christians  in  Uganda,  114. 

Christian  Woman's  Board  of  Mis- 
sions, 239,  240,  241;  work  of,  240. 

Christie,  Drp,  in  Mookden,  258. 

Chrysostom,  on  the  Goths,  186. 

Chunder  Sen,  67,  78. 

Church,  early,  missionary,  176. 

Church  of  Scotland,  opposed  to  mis- 
sions, 33. 

Church  Extension,  Board  of,  234,  235; 
work  of,  235. 

Church  Miss.  Society,  43,  209. 

Civilization  has  its  evils,  86,  87. 


95) 


296 


INDEX. 


Civilize  first,  122-125. 

Civil  war,  cost  of,  9. 

Clotilda,  130,  137. 

Clovis,  136,  137,  186,  197, 

Clough,  Dr.,  16. 

Coan,  Titus,  212. 

Cochran,  Dr.,  255. 

Columba,  5;  work  of,  38,  187,  188,  199. 

Columbanus,  190,  199. 

Commerce  cannot  save,  127-129;  and 
missions,  49. 

Confidence  of  missionaries  as  to  the 
result,  57,  58. 

Conscience,  doctrinal,  12;  temper- 
ance, 11;  missionary,  11,  12. 

Constantine,  translated  the  Gospels, 
191. 

Convention  in  1819,  225;  men  in  attend- 
ance, 225,  226;  elected  Alexander 
Campbell  president,  226. 

Converts,  character  of,  84-86. 

Conway,  M.  D. ,  118,  119. 

Countess  Dufferin's  Fund,  262. 

Covetousness,  280. 

Cox,  M.  B.,  69. 

Cranmer,  6. 

Crimean  war,  cost  of,  9. 

Cromwell,  207. 

Cross,  Alexander,  231. 

Crusades,  9. 


Dambroka,  1.38. 
Damien,  Father,  206. 
Dana,  R.  H. ,  86. 
Danenhower,  217. 
Darwin,  Charles,  73,  74,  79. 
Daughter,  birth  of,  140. 
Days  of  the  week,  names  of, : 
Denby,  Col.,  78,  79. 
Denmark,  work  in,  242. 
Dober,  206. 
Drachart,  206. 
Drummond,  Prof.,  50. 
Dryden, 6. 
Durand,  Dr.,  243, -259. 


Earl,  H.  S.,  242. 

East  India  Company  opposed  to  mis- 
sions, 46,  66. 

Easter,  origin  of,  40. 

Education  does  not  save,  129. 

Edwardes,  Sir  Herbert,  67,  115. 

Edwards,  Jonathan,  14,  205,  207. 

Edwin,  conversion  of,  137,  189. 

Eliot,  John,  6;  work  of,  203. 

Eliot,  President,  270. 

Elliott,  Sir  Charles,  109. 

Encouragement  in  missions,  42. 

England,  9;  all  people  not  converted, 
36. 

English  Baptist  Miss.  Soc. ,  207. 

English  Commerce  and  Missions,  52. 

Errett,  Isaac,  234. 

Erromanga,  Williams  killed  there, 
71. 

Erskine,  Dr.,  210. 

Eskimo,  "the  man,"  24. 

Ethelbert,  137,  188,  189. 

Ethelburga,  137. 

Europe  won  by  the  gospel,  131. 


Fiji,  conversion  of,  212.  213;  degra- 
dation of,  72;  engages  in  missions, 
117. 

Foreign  Christian  Missionary  Society, 
241,242. 

Formosa,  214. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  7;  quoted,  233, 
234. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  271. 

Freedmen,  21. 

Frere,  Sir  Bartle,  76. 

Fridolin,  191. 

Fuller,  Andrew,  271. 

Gardener,  Allen,  106,  107. 

Garibaldi,  111. 

Garst,  C.  E. ,  244. 

Geddie,  .John,  70. 

Gibbon,  179,  185. 

Giving,  264;  Seventh  Day  Adventlsts, 

267. 
Golaz,  106. 

Gordon,  General,  275. 
Gordon,  brothers,  in  South  Seas,  71. 
Gospel,  for  the  world,  32;  gave  us  our 

civilization ,  39 ;  in  Phenice ,  Cyprus 

and  Antioch,  32. 
Goths  won  to  Christ,  185, 186. 
Gottfried,  196. 

Gracey,  Dr.,  on  Woman's  Work,  140. 
Grant,  Dr.,  255. 
Graybiel,  Miss  Marv,  1-39. 
Great  Bright  God  of  Self-Restralnt, 

270. 
Gregory  of  Utrecht,  192. 

Haldane,  Robert,  45,  46. 

Hannington,  Bishop,  64. 

Happer,  Dr. ,  254. 

Havelock  at  Lucknow,  64. 

Hearnden,  E.  P.,  245. 

Healing,  miracles  of,  249,  250,  251, 
252 ;  reveals  the  spirit  of  the  gos- 
pel, 252. 

Heine,  269. 

Henry,  Mr.,  257. 

Hervey  group,  71. 

Hindu  alarm,  81. 

Hoick,  Dr.  A.,  242. 

Holy  Spirit,  given  to  the  Gentiles,  31. 

Hopkins,  Johns,  276. 

Hosmer,  Harriet,  275. 

Hottentots,  80. 

House  of  Lords,  33. 

Howard,  Dr. ,  254. 

Howard,  Gen. ,  on  the  Bible,  120. 

Hunt,  John,  72,  103,  104. 

Hyder,  All,  221. 

Hymnology,  not  missionary,  16. 

Imitation  of  Christ,  162. 

Increase  in  receipts,  247. 

India  closed,  45;  hostile  to  the  gos- 
pel, 216;  open,  47;  triumphs  in, 
217. 

India  and  commerce,  52. 

Indians  changed,  120;  treatment  of, 
125. 

Infanticide  in  China,  142;  in  India, 
112;  ill  South  Seas,  105. 

Intelligencer,  Missionary,  245. 


INDEX. 


297 


Japan,  hostile  to  the  gospel,  47,  215; 

March's    account    of,     119,     120; 

triumphs   in,    67,    216;    work   in, 

244. 
Jerusalem,  mission  in,  230,  231. 
Jesuits,  bravery  of ,  107. 
Joel,  quoted,  28. 

John,  bishop  of  Mechlenburg,  195. 
Johnson,  J.  T.,  226. 
Johnson,  William,  68. 
Judson,  Ann,  18;  heroism  of,  94,  95. 
Judson,  Dr.,   10;  account  of  life  and 

woric,  93-96. 
Justin  Martyr,  179. 

Kaffir,  the,  113,  114. 

Kane,  Dr.,  217. 

Kentuclcy  Missionary    Society,    238. 

Kerr,  Dr.,  257,  262. 

Kevorlcian,  Garabed,  242. 

Kiernander,  worli  of,  205. 

Kilian,  191. 

King  of  Belgium,  45. 

Kingsley,  Canon,  113. 

Knox,  6. 

Korea,  open,  49;  work  begun  in,  75. 

Las  Casas,  6. 

Lagos,  50. 

Land-hunger  of  white  races,  126. 

Lawrence,  Lord,  80,  82,  83. 

Lehman,  J.  B.,  236. 

Libanius,  133. 

Lightfoot,  Bishop,  87. 

Li  Hung  Chang,  234. 

Lithuanians,  won  to  the  faith,  195. 

Little  Builders  at  Work,  240. 

Livingstone,  account  of  his  life  and 
work,  99,  102;  buried  in  "West- 
minster Abby,  219. 

London, 9. 

London  Miss.  Soc,  209. 

Lone  Star  Mission;  58. 

Long  Parliament,  207. 

Lowe,  Dr. ,  259,  260. 

Lull,  Raimund,  89,  197. 

Luther,  9;  despair  of,  222;  on  a  three- 
fold conversion,  281. 

Lyon,  Mary,  276. 

Macaulay,  quoted,  46. 
Mackay,  of  Formosa,  214. 
Mackay,  A.  M.,  105,  106. 
Macklin,  Dr.  W.  E.,  reached  China, 

244;  work  in  hospital,  254,  260. 
Madagascar,  69,  70,  214. 
Marsden,  Samuel,  43,  73. 
Marshman,  Dr. ,  43. 
Martel,  Charles,  2(X>. 
Martyn,  Henry,  115,  204,  205. 
McKenzie,  Dr.,  254. 
McKenzie,  quoted,  202,  221. 
Medical  missions,  249. 
Meigs,  F.  E.,  245. 
Methodius,  194. 
Millennial  Harbinger,  225. 
Mills,  S.  J.,  210. 
Milman,  quoted,  162. 
Missions  among  the  Disciples,  224. 
Missions,  enjoined,  25;  opposed,  30, 

34. 


Missionary  conventions,  change  in, 

Missionary,  meaning  of  word,  152. 

Missionary  Tidings,  240. 

Missouri,  work  in,  238. 

Mitchell.  Dr.,  77. 

Moffat,  43;  account  of  his  life,  96,  98; 
among  the  Bechuanas,  69;  and  the 
Dutch  farmer,  55,  56;  delight  in 
work,  110;  using  candles,  51. 

Moffat,  Mrs.  Mary,  trials  and  work  of, 
97,  99. 

Mohammedan  alarm,  82. 

Moravians.  18,  206;  trials  of  in  Green- 
land, 109. 

Morrison,  9,  10,  43;  entered  China, 
67;  work  in  China,  92,  93. 

Muir,  Sir  William,  66,  67. 

Muller,  Max,  224. 

Napier,  Lord,  220. 

National  intercourse  does  not  re- 
generate, 125. 

Negro  Board  of  Education  and  Evan- 
gelization, 235,  236,  237. 

Newell,  Harriet,  18. 

New  Guinea,  74. 

New  Zealand,  73,  118,  213. 

Noble,  Dr.  ,  278. 

Norton,  Albert,  243. 

O'Hara,  Mary,  19. 

Ohio,   State    Society   of,    237;    work 

done,  238. 
Olaf ,  193,  198. 
Olga,  137,  138. 
Ongole,  115. 
Otho,  Bishop,  195. 

Palmer,  Ray,  on  Japan,  46,  48. 

Parker,  Dr.  Joseph,  275. 

Parker,  Dr.  Peter,  254. 

Paton,  J.  G.,  109.  117,  118. 

Patrick,  Saint.  38. 

Patteson,  John,  C,  102,  103. 

Pajil,  a  missionary,  170;  carried  the 
gospel  into  Europe,  38;  mission- 
ary journeys  of,  173,  174,  175. 

Peabody,  276. 

Peroun,  194. 

Peter,  preaching  to  the  Gentiles,  168, 
169;  prejudice  conquered,  30,  31; 
vision  in  Joppa,  30. 

Pierson,  Dr. ,  88. 

Pilgrim's  Progress,  163. 

Pliny,  179. 

Poland,  conversion  of,  138. 

Pomeranians,  won  to  the  faith,  195. 

Portuguese  estimate  of  Hottentots, 
113. 

Post,  Dr. ,  256.  257. 

Present  condition  of  the  world,  63. 

Pressense,  180. 

Pride  of  race,  24. 

Pritchard,Dr.  ,on  the  Hottentots,  114. 

Promise  to  Abram,  25. 

Prophecy  of  Daniel.  26;  of  David,  25; 
of  Habakkuk,  26;  of  Isaiah,  26; 
Malachi,  26. 

Protestant  Missionary  Corporation, 
207. 


298 


INDEX. 


Prussians,    gods    of,    196;    fanatical 

pagans,  196. 
Purpose  of  God,  40. 

Quarterly  Review,  108,  218. 

Rate  of  increase  in  India,  115. 

Redwald,  189. 

Results,  direct,  66;  indirect,  76. 

Ritter,  Karl,  213. 

Robinson,  Sue  A. ,  214. 

Rome  saved  by  the  gospel,  130. 

Rotislav,  194. 

Rugen,  199. 

Russia,  conversion  of,  197. 

St.  Gall,  .5,  190. 

St.  Patricl£,  5;  work  of,  186,  197,  199. 

Samoa,  work  in,  71. 

Sandwich  Islands,  people  degraded, 
118;  regenerated,  119,  211,  212;  and 
commerce;  49,  .50. 

Saw,  A.  F.  H.,  245. 

Scandinavia,  242. 

Sclimidt,  George,  in  South  Africa,  69. 

Schwartz,  110,  HI,  115,  205,  221. 

Seelye,  Pres.,  on  conquest  in  Japan, 
88. 

Selwyn,  Bishop,  73. 

Sepoy,  mutiny,  63. 

Scotland,  9;  attitude  of  churches  of, 
209,  210;  proud  of  her  missiona- 
ries, 219. 

Scott,  Walter,  228,  229,  274. 

Severinus,  186. 

Shaftsbury,  7,  182. 

Shishmanian,  G.  N.,  242. 

Siam,  49. 

Sickles,  U.  S.  Consul,  221. 

Sierra  Leone,  68. 

Slavic  nations,  conversion  of ,  194. 

Smith,  C.  C,  235. 

Smith,  Dr.,  202. 

Smith,  G.  T.,  244;  Mrs.  G.  T.  Smith 
died,  244. 

Smith,  Sydney,  33,  218. 

Soap,  an  index  of  civilization,  50. 

Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel, 
207. 

Society  Islands,  213. 

Son,  birth  of,  140. 

South  Africa,  success  in,  69. 

South  Seas,  people  degraded,  116; 
success  in,  70,  71,  79. 

Southern  Christian  Institute,  236. 

Southon,  Dr.,  256. 

Stanley,  H.  M. ,  52,  189,  190. 

State  Societies,  work  of,  237,  238,  239. 

Statistics,  8,  9;  of  human  family,  62; 
of  what  has  been  done,  62,  63;  of 
work  among  the  Disciples,  249. 

Stevenston,  Dr.,  222. 

Sturmi,  192. 

Success  ot  gospel, assured, 55;  in  apos- 
tolic age,  177, 17S;  among  Eskimos, 
in  Fiji, Hawaii, Madagascar, among 
Negroes,  in  Tierra  del  Fuego, 
among  Zulus,  55,  66. 


Tahitian  Miss.  Soc. ,  269. 

Tasmanian,  last,  126. 

Taylor,  Dr.  J.  Hudson,  15. 

Tertullian,  179. 

Teutonic,  Knights,  196. 

Teutonic,  people  won  to  the  faith,  190. 

Thakombau,  116,  117. 

Thibet  still  closed,  47. 

Thomas  a  Kempis,  162,  163. 

Thompson,  A.  J.,  236. 

Thompson,  Sir  R. ,  48,  77.  , 

Tinnevelly,  success  in,  115. 

Triglav,  199. 

Triumphs  of  the  gospel,  55,  121. 

Tubman,  Mrs.  E.  H. ,  19. 

Turkey,  work  in,  242. 

Two  sisters  in  Scotland,  19. 

Umias,  185. 

Vaughan,  Dean,  15. 

Vicelin,  195. 

Vladimir,  138,  194. 

Voice,  The  Missionary ,  246. 

Volunteers,  missionary,  44,  45. 


Wallace,  A.  R.,  on  Celebes,  213,  214. 

Walpurga,  138,  139. 

Ward,  43. 

Warneck,  87,  222. 

Wesley,  John,  207,  275. 

Westcott,  7. 

Whateley,  Miss,  in  Egypt,  139. 

Wharton,  G.  L.,  243. 

Widows,  147. 

Wilfrid,  189. 

Wife,  bears  burdens,  145;  dies  with 
her  husband,  147,  148;  has  no 
rights,  146;  must  obey  her  lord, 
145;  serves  her  husband  here,  147; 
superseded,  146. 

Williams,  Mrs.  Carrie  Loos,  245. 

Williams  College,  210,  219,  220. 

Williams,  E.  T.,245. 

Williams,  John,  eaten,  89;  on  gospel 
and  commerce,  51;  work  and 
death,  104,  105. 

Williams,  Sir  Monier,  83. 

Willibroard,  191. 

Wittenberg,  33. 

Women,  among  the  early  converts, 
135;  assisted  the  apostles,  136;  de- 
graded by  false  faiths,  133,  148, 
149;  inferior  to  men,  143;  minis- 
tered to  Christ,  134;  not  fit  for  in- 
dependence, 144;  persecuted,  135, 
136;  societies  of,  139;  work  of  on 
the  field,  139,  140. 

World  open  to  the  gospel,  45. 

Xavier,  6,  107,  280. 

Ziegenbalg,  205. 
Zinzendorf,  206. 

Zulus,  without  the  gospel,  113;  with 
it,  114. 


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